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thedrifter
01-24-06, 06:51 AM
Words Can Be Deadly:
Language Training, the Neglected Survival Skill
by LtCol Arthur L. Clark, USMCR

A formula for success in 21st century conflict.

As the Marine Corps progresses through the 21st century, it is time to make some institutional changes regarding the education of all Marines. While we all can be proud of the speed and skill demonstrated during major combat operations both in Afghanistan and Iraq, as we have seen, when fighting fourth-generation wars, the defeat of an enemy’s military forces alone no longer guarantees victory. Indeed, it may only create the opportunity for victory, which can be squandered if follow-on planning and forces are not able to take rapid advantage of initial success.

The chief educational deficiency that needs to be addressed Corps-wide is the appalling lack of either opportunity for, or meaningful incentive to, study foreign languages and cultures. Time and again we pay the painful price of too few competently trained Marines who can read or understand the language and culture of the very people who are trying to kill us on the battlefield. As a result, critical opportunities before, during, and after major combat operations are missed, and the price is paid in blood.


I’m mindful of the foreign area study programs, training for linguists at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, and the small stipend that is offered for language proficiency in the Marine Corps. The problem with the first two is that while they produce finely trained Marines, the numbers they produce are too few for the Corps’ needs. As for the stipend, it barely covers the cost of the materials needed to learn or maintain proficiency in a particular language and offers little in the way of incentive for Marines or their commanders to make the commitment needed to develop this skill. This problem is well known and needs no further study. The opportunity and means to address it are at hand. The benefits to the Corps are clear. What is needed is the will to the make this issue a priority.

The Opportunity and the Means
On-base and distance education programs both at home and overseas can allow motivated Marines to learn critical language skills. The Marine Corps University and Marine Corps Institute in conjunction with the Defense Language Institute should make it a priority to field both the materials and the instructors for critical languages at every major Marine Corps installation. The program should ensure adequate supplies of materials and flexible scheduling so that every interested Marine, officer or enlisted, regardless of his military occupational specialty, can take advantage of the program.
The program should be portable so that the Marine may continue his studies when transferred to his next duty station. With the lengthening of overseas deployments, local instructors should be contracted to teach both language and culture. Such a program would offer the Marine the advantage of learning from native speakers and would create the positive side effect of countering local perceptions of either U.S. cultural insensitivity or arrogance. There should be no excuse for literally thousands of Marines deployed for a year or more in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Japan or on Embassy duty not to end that tour with a basic proficiency in the regional language.

Most Reserve Marines live in proximity to major educational institutions in their area, and adjunct instructors, similar to those utilized by the Command and Staff Non-Resident Program, should be contracted to provide this training. Deployments to overseas areas will allow for practical applications of these skills.

In addition to language skills, our professional education programs need to include regional studies as a required element of their curricula. This requirement should begin at entry-level programs for noncommissioned officers and junior officers and continue throughout every phase of professional military education.

A program of this nature will require two things that always seem to be in short supply—time and money. Startup costs when compared to other educational expenses may appear prohibitive. When measured against other weapons programs or operational training, however, they will be well below the cost of fielding a single aircraft or running a year’s worth of combined arms exercises at Twentynine Palms. As for time—no unit or individual can afford not to make the time to develop the professional skills that will make them more effective warriors.

The Benefits
The benefits of Marines capable of reading and speaking second languages are obvious. Whether listening to communications intercepts, working with coalition partners, or dealing with civilian populations, the ability to speak the native language has impacts on almost every phase of a military operation. Ask the young sergeant or lieutenant patrolling in an urban combat zone if he wishes he had an opportunity to learn Arabic or Pashtu before he got there. Ask the commander, who has security responsibilities for an entire city, if he would prefer to depend on Marines to translate for him or rely upon an English speaking local, who may have tribal or clan interests that conflict with the message he is trying to send. Ask the theater commander if the ability to have Marines who speak Arabic appear on Al Jazeera to counter enemy propaganda would not have a greater impact than a non-Arabic speaking spokesmen.

Aside from the immediate military applications, consider the value of language training as a tool for both recruiting and retention. Many young Marines are pursuing college educations. Language training provided by the Marine Corps represents a way to help them meet these increasing costs. From a perspective of employer support of the Reserves, the fact that the Marine Corps language training can play a positive role in civilian careers should not be underestimated. When you consider the number of Reserve Marines who are police officers, paramedics, or involved in global business, the fact that the Corps is affording their employees an opportunity to develop skills of value to them will go a long way in ensuring their continued support.

The Will
For a change of this nature to be accomplished both quickly and effectively, both sufficient resources to succeed and, more importantly, the commitment by the Corps as a whole are essential. Army special forces units already have developed a program of this nature on a much smaller scale. Language skills, like weapons skills, are viewed as part of the measures of effectiveness for both the individual and the unit in the special forces. If we are serious, we must do the same.

First, we need to commit ourselves to achievable goals. A Corps-wide program for language training can be effected in 1 year, with a goal of 20 percent bilingual capability in critical languages Corps-wide within 3 years of the program’s inception. Measurable proficiency and career length commitment to this aspect of military education must become the norm. Stipends for proficiency should be continued, but these alone will not be enough. Enlisted proficiency and conduct marks, and fitness reports for sergeants and above, must all reflect what efforts the individual Marine is making to achieve competency in a second language. Command screening and promotion boards should consider not only what steps the individual Marine is making but also the degree to which the Marine has encouraged those already under his leadership to achieve these goals.

The Marine Corps is not the Peace Corps or the Diplomatic Corps. Language proficiency is not a substitute for traditional combat skills. However, we must remember that warfare continues to be a thinking profession. We must be able to read, speak, and understand how the enemy thinks, and be able to influence those who speak like him. Extended overseas deployments of both Active and Reserve Marines are going to continue for the foreseeable future. The questions are—will we continue to play catchup, or will we get serious about giving Marines the skills that may help them survive and succeed?

>LtCol Clark was mobilized in January 2002 and served 18 months in various assignments in the Central Command area of responsibility. A graduate of the Army War College, he has authored two books and has contributed numerous articles to MCG.

Ellie
Language Training, the Neglected Survival Skill
by LtCol Arthur L. Clark, USMCR

A formula for success in 21st century conflict.

As the Marine Corps progresses through the 21st century, it is time to make some institutional changes regarding the education of all Marines. While we all can be proud of the speed and skill demonstrated during major combat operations both in Afghanistan and Iraq, as we have seen, when fighting fourth-generation wars, the defeat of an enemy’s military forces alone no longer guarantees victory. Indeed, it may only create the opportunity for victory, which can be squandered if follow-on planning and forces are not able to take rapid advantage of initial success.

The chief educational deficiency that needs to be addressed Corps-wide is the appalling lack of either opportunity for, or meaningful incentive to, study foreign languages and cultures. Time and again we pay the painful price of too few competently trained Marines who can read or understand the language and culture of the very people who are trying to kill us on the battlefield. As a result, critical opportunities before, during, and after major combat operations are missed, and the price is paid in blood.


I’m mindful of the foreign area study programs, training for linguists at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, and the small stipend that is offered for language proficiency in the Marine Corps. The problem with the first two is that while they produce finely trained Marines, the numbers they produce are too few for the Corps’ needs. As for the stipend, it barely covers the cost of the materials needed to learn or maintain proficiency in a particular language and offers little in the way of incentive for Marines or their commanders to make the commitment needed to develop this skill. This problem is well known and needs no further study. The opportunity and means to address it are at hand. The benefits to the Corps are clear. What is needed is the will to the make this issue a priority.

The Opportunity and the Means
On-base and distance education programs both at home and overseas can allow motivated Marines to learn critical language skills. The Marine Corps University and Marine Corps Institute in conjunction with the Defense Language Institute should make it a priority to field both the materials and the instructors for critical languages at every major Marine Corps installation. The program should ensure adequate supplies of materials and flexible scheduling so that every interested Marine, officer or enlisted, regardless of his military occupational specialty, can take advantage of the program.
The program should be portable so that the Marine may continue his studies when transferred to his next duty station. With the lengthening of overseas deployments, local instructors should be contracted to teach both language and culture. Such a program would offer the Marine the advantage of learning from native speakers and would create the positive side effect of countering local perceptions of either U.S. cultural insensitivity or arrogance. There should be no excuse for literally thousands of Marines deployed for a year or more in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Japan or on Embassy duty not to end that tour with a basic proficiency in the regional language.

Most Reserve Marines live in proximity to major educational institutions in their area, and adjunct instructors, similar to those utilized by the Command and Staff Non-Resident Program, should be contracted to provide this training. Deployments to overseas areas will allow for practical applications of these skills.

In addition to language skills, our professional education programs need to include regional studies as a required element of their curricula. This requirement should begin at entry-level programs for noncommissioned officers and junior officers and continue throughout every phase of professional military education.

A program of this nature will require two things that always seem to be in short supply—time and money. Startup costs when compared to other educational expenses may appear prohibitive. When measured against other weapons programs or operational training, however, they will be well below the cost of fielding a single aircraft or running a year’s worth of combined arms exercises at Twentynine Palms. As for time—no unit or individual can afford not to make the time to develop the professional skills that will make them more effective warriors.

The Benefits
The benefits of Marines capable of reading and speaking second languages are obvious. Whether listening to communications intercepts, working with coalition partners, or dealing with civilian populations, the ability to speak the native language has impacts on almost every phase of a military operation. Ask the young sergeant or lieutenant patrolling in an urban combat zone if he wishes he had an opportunity to learn Arabic or Pashtu before he got there. Ask the commander, who has security responsibilities for an entire city, if he would prefer to depend on Marines to translate for him or rely upon an English speaking local, who may have tribal or clan interests that conflict with the message he is trying to send. Ask the theater commander if the ability to have Marines who speak Arabic appear on Al Jazeera to counter enemy propaganda would not have a greater impact than a non-Arabic speaking spokesmen.

Aside from the immediate military applications, consider the value of language training as a tool for both recruiting and retention. Many young Marines are pursuing college educations. Language training provided by the Marine Corps represents a way to help them meet these increasing costs. From a perspective of employer support of the Reserves, the fact that the Marine Corps language training can play a positive role in civilian careers should not be underestimated. When you consider the number of Reserve Marines who are police officers, paramedics, or involved in global business, the fact that the Corps is affording their employees an opportunity to develop skills of value to them will go a long way in ensuring their continued support.

The Will
For a change of this nature to be accomplished both quickly and effectively, both sufficient resources to succeed and, more importantly, the commitment by the Corps as a whole are essential. Army special forces units already have developed a program of this nature on a much smaller scale. Language skills, like weapons skills, are viewed as part of the measures of effectiveness for both the individual and the unit in the special forces. If we are serious, we must do the same.

First, we need to commit ourselves to achievable goals. A Corps-wide program for language training can be effected in 1 year, with a goal of 20 percent bilingual capability in critical languages Corps-wide within 3 years of the program’s inception. Measurable proficiency and career length commitment to this aspect of military education must become the norm. Stipends for proficiency should be continued, but these alone will not be enough. Enlisted proficiency and conduct marks, and fitness reports for sergeants and above, must all reflect what efforts the individual Marine is making to achieve competency in a second language. Command screening and promotion boards should consider not only what steps the individual Marine is making but also the degree to which the Marine has encouraged those already under his leadership to achieve these goals.

The Marine Corps is not the Peace Corps or the Diplomatic Corps. Language proficiency is not a substitute for traditional combat skills. However, we must remember that warfare continues to be a thinking profession. We must be able to read, speak, and understand how the enemy thinks, and be able to influence those who speak like him. Extended overseas deployments of both Active and Reserve Marines are going to continue for the foreseeable future. The questions are—will we continue to play catchup, or will we get serious about giving Marines the skills that may help them survive and succeed?

>LtCol Clark was mobilized in January 2002 and served 18 months in various assignments in the Central Command area of responsibility. A graduate of the Army War College, he has authored two books and has contributed numerous articles to MCG.

Ellie