# How do I become a UN peacekeeper? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257 "2004-07-02T19:00:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/1 "2004-07-02T19:00:53Z")
How do I become a UN peacekeeping troop? Do I have to go through the US military first? Also, is the name of peacekeeper just lip service, or do these troops actually (as is my impresion) do more moral work in the world? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/2 "2004-07-02T19:21:04Z")
Step one: Move to a country other than the US Step two: Join the military Step three: Wait for a new blood bath somewhere in the world that people care about. Peacekeepers are best used when opposing sides agree to a settlement (I.e. Cyprus) and request the UN to provide troops to patrol a buffer zone between them. They operate under a UN mandate and under the command of one of the countries supplying the troops. They typically are required to be conspicuous and not engage in hostilities. ---
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/3 "2004-07-02T19:25:39Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Step one: Move to a country other than the US > Step two: Join the military > Step three: Wait for a new blood bath somewhere in the world that people care about. Is it really imposible to do as a US citizen? If my memory serves me, I forfit my citizenship if I join another country’s military. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/4 "2004-07-02T19:33:10Z")
Not unless (a) the foreign country is at war with the U.S. or (b) you serve as an officer, and possibly not even then. From the [Dual Citizenship FAQ](http://www.richw.org/dualcit/faq.html#forarmy): > [@](#): > > Current US law says that foreign military service will result in loss of US citizenship if the person served as an officer (commissioned or non-commissioned) or the foreign military force is engaged in hostilities against the US; the service was voluntary; and (most importantly) the person intended to give up his US citizenship. > > Current US policy goes further. Unless a dual citizen is serving in a “policy level position” in a foreign government, commits treason against the US (e.g., by fighting the US voluntarily during wartime), or acts in a manner considered totally inconsistent with any possible intent to keep US citizenship, the State Department is unlikely to take any action. Further, the current policy statement on foreign military service recognizes that dual citizens sometimes find themselves legally obligated to participate in the military forces of their other country of citizenship, and can do so in such situations without endangering their US status. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/5 "2004-07-02T19:34:47Z")
The US may provide logistics but I’m not sure how often the country gets involved in the ground work. Historically the US would likely have been a supporter of one of the sides. That leads to perception problems. Modern peacekeeping is slowly turning into peacemaking. In that situation the sides have yet to agree to terms and the result is a fair bit of bloodshed i.e. Bosnia. Its not the PeaceCorps by any stretch. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/6 "2004-07-02T21:50:27Z")
Move to Canada, and join the armed forces. Canada is involved in most of the UN’s peacekeeping missions. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/7 "2004-07-02T22:35:13Z")
Golly, don’t you have to find peace first, before you can keep it? Maybe it’s a metaphysical thing, the UN peacefinders. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/8 "2004-07-02T22:50:42Z")
The current largest contributor to peacekeeping missions is the Pakistani military, if you fancy a _real_ change of career. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/9 "2004-07-02T22:52:49Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Golly, don’t you have to find peace first, before you can keep it? Yup. As illogical titles, ‘UN Peacekeepers’ is on a par with, ooooh, ‘Defence Budget’. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/10 "2004-07-03T01:41:39Z")
> [@FlippyFly](#): > > Is it really imposible to do as a US citizen? There ARE American UN Peacekeepers or Observer Forces. Just that they’re very few, for various reasons: As mentioned above, often the US _is_ aligned with one or another of the parties in conflict (or isn’t, but nobody will believe it), and at the very least it’s preferred that UN missions NOT include any of the hegemonic powers(\*); the US forces have a large amount of other prior commitments going on even in the best of times; there are _domestic_ political issues involved, some serious, some silly (there’s always some kook who’ll claim one GI wearing a “UN” armband and reporting to an officer from Austria is a sign that we’re under One World Government); etc. (\*Which is why you see a lot of the UN forces coming from the likes of Fiji, Ireland, Canada, Finland, Pakistan, or Nigeria. You want someone that nobody will suspect of wishing to take the place over for themselves) The way to become a UN Peacekeeper/Observer, quite simply, is: 1. Join the military of your country, or your country of choice 2. Have your government decide to commit some troops to a UN mission 3. Have your unit be the one that gets deployed. As you may see, only “1” is really within your power. Improved chances if Canadian, Fijian or Irish, but that’s about it. There is no “UN Peacekeeping Force”, but rather units from the member countries’ armed forces, that get attached to a command that’s formed for the purpose of performing a given UN mission, as agreed to by their respective governments. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/12 "2010-07-28T21:51:05Z")
> [@StevenBhardwaj](#): > > US citizens can definitely work for the UN Dept of Peacekeeping Operations. Check out [jobs.un.org](http://jobs.un.org) > > If you think it might be hard to get one of these positions with limited scope of experience, then check out [www.unv.org](http://www.unv.org) > > Support the UN. Yes, but this isn’t really what the OP is looking for. A man who working for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as an analyst or PR Flack or researcher isn’t a peacekeeper any more than I would become a soldier by becoming an attorney-advisor at the Department of Defense. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/13 "2010-07-28T21:57:20Z")
Does the U.N. get involved if there’s a zombie uprising? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/14 "2010-07-28T23:39:35Z")
[moderating] Several people have reported **StevenBhardwaj** ’s post as spam and/or resurrecting a six-year-old thread. While he did apparently join the SDMB just to make that post, I think it is on-topic and does add something to the thread, so I’m not closing it at this point. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-a-un-peacekeeper/253257/15 "2010-07-29T00:07:10Z")
Guess I did close it. I think he’s a comment spammer. Just my opinion, of course.