Mario Mokhtarian Feliciano

A Filipino cadet, Carl de Leon Liwanag, graduated from the United States Military Academy (USMA) and another, Mario Feliciano, took command of the corps' Cadet Field Training Regiment - a first for a Filipino, the Philippine Star reported.
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Class 2008 will have two graduates from the Philippines - Feliciano, who was born in Iran and raised in Kuwait by a Filipino father and an Iranian mother, and Achanzar.
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Achanzar is set to be the first Filipina graduate and Feliciano has a shot at being the first international cadet named First Captain and Brigade Commander at USMA.
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Feliciano was born in Shiraz, Iran and raised in Kuwait and doesn't look like a Filipino.He has lived in the Philippines less than two years and doesn't speak the language well.

But, from all accounts, he is more Filipino than many Filipinos.

Feliciano was the only international cadet that The Philippine Star saw at West Point with the name of his country, "PHILIPPINES," on his name plate.

A compelling and passionate speaker, Feliciano said he wanted to finish what his father began.His father, Rosauro Feliciano, was a major in the marines during the Marcos regime before he retired and went to Iran to be an engineering professor.

Feliciano said he had the choice of joining the military academy in the Islamic Republic of Iran or the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) "because I was a dual citizen."

"I chose to serve the Philippines.I canceled my Iranian citizenship and after I graduated from high school I went straight to the PMA and applied for admission," he said.While waiting for the call he enrolled at Saint Louis University in Baguio City and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to prepare him for the military.

Feliciano also said he managed to overcome his linguistics problems with the help of classmates who slowly taught him Tagalog.

After his plebe year, he and Achanzar were selected to join West Point.

Feliciano said he had wanted to join the PMA since he was eight years old.

He also said: "It does not matter if you don't look Filipino, if your skin is not fair or even if you cannot speak Filipino.What really, really matters is your heart because there are many people out there who speak Filipino but their heart is not Pinoy."

"I believe I'm more Pinoy than many Filipinos," he added, saying he plans to make a career in the military.

Although nearly 80 Filipinos have graduated from West Point, only a few have served in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) until their retirement.

The graduates are Daniel Asis, Anthony Bulaclac Jr., Kimberly Jung, Christy Achanzar and Mario Feliciano.
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Mario Mokhtarian Feliciano is the first son of a Filipino migrant worker to hurdle West Point.He was born in Iran and grew up in Kuwait where he learned to speak near-perfect English.As a child, he'd cry when told not to play with other children because he hadn't finished his homework yet, but when he did decide to part with his books, liked to play with miniature soldier figures.
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Mario Feliciano, the first son of an OFW who graduated from the US Military Academy, pulls out a Philippine flag in a show of pride and patriotism on the parade grounds of Michie Stadium in West Point.Mario Feliciano, the first son of an OFW who graduated from the US Military Academy, pulls out a Philippine flag in a show of pride and patriotism on the parade grounds of Michie Stadium in West Point.

Feliciano finished 87 in a class of 972 and reached the rank of Regimental Sergeant-Major, the highest rank a foreign student can attain.More interestingly, he was one of the candidates for the post of First Captain, who serves as Corps Commander.He led one of the Corps' four regiments in the summer of his senior year at West Point.
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But Feliciano and Achanzar are the last Filipinos to graduate from West Point, at least for the next four years.
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"They told us we needed a sponsor, his mother said, ‘God will be your sponsor'," the elder Feliciano explained.

"First God, second his knowledge and third our prayers," Nahid said of how her son got into West Point.Often quoting from the Bible, she believes Mario is destined for bigger things.

She said she wanted to appeal the government."I hope the government of the Philippines values his achievements.As a mother, I know that the knowledge that Mario has is really a gift from God.We need to use that in a way that others also learn something good.Government should make use of this knowledge, but in a right way," Nahid declared.

Col. Rolando Tenefrancia, Philippine Army attaché in Washington D.C. said Feliciano and Achanzar are required to report to Camp Aguinaldo after 30 days.
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Achanzar will be deployed with the Light Armor Regiment; Feliciano is joining the Infantry.
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Feliciano has been invited to speak before the Engineering Management Honor Society in Las Vegas, Nevada in September.They were impressed enough by his thesis in engineering management to extend the invitation to the new graduate.

Filipinos and Fil-Ams, tied by a common heritage, part ways, at least for the meantime.