Indian-born US student to join military in Iraq

It was the limits of life in a comatose San Joaquin valley farm town that spurred Kaur to join the California National Guard in late 2002, two days after her 17th birthday and more than a year before she graduated from school.

The $ 3,000 bonus she got for enlisting was yet another important factor.

The daughter of Sikh grape farmers, Kaur emigrated at age seven from India to the San Francisco Bay area, then moved to Earlimart, a dusty burg of 6,600, about 40 miles from Bakersfield, 70 miles from Fresno.

While cleaning her weapon during a training session, she decides going to war with her school buddies will be an ‘‘awesome’’ experience. ‘‘And then come back alive together,’’ she was quoted as saying. “That would be the best thing.’’

Kaur, who works as a clerk in a doctor’s office and studies at Bakersfield college while she waits to be deployed to Iraq, wasn’t motivated solely by patriotism. ‘‘It’s lead to a lot more opportunities in life,’’ she told The Sacramento Bee.