Air Force officials developing cross-culturally competent officers
12/11/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- In an effort to produce more culturally competent officers, Air Force ROTC officials now encourage cadets to take foreign language coursework and participate in cultural and language immersion and study abroad programs, according to an Air Force culture and language official.
"This is one of many new programs aimed at developing cross-culturally competent Airmen who are better able to build coalitions and enable partner nations and appropriately respond to the human elements of conflict," said Lt. Col. Paul Valenzuela, the Air Force culture and language office chief.
Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley said language and cultural training will allow Airmen to better support the mission during a keynote address to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center's 68th Anniversary Dinner.
"So as we seek to better understand our partners, the need for increased language and cultural training is crystal clear," Secretary Donley said. "There is no doubt that we require these skills now and that we'll continue to require them in the future. Our goal remains clear: provide the combatant commanders with Airmen who possess the language, cultural skills and regional knowledge to enhance joint and coalition warfighting."
In May, Air Force officials created the culture, region and language flight plan as the basis behind its initiative to identify and train Airmen to fill the requirements to fight in today's global environment, Colonel Valenzuela said.
"Developing commissioned officers with foreign language skills and providing cultural immersions early in their military careers is an active concept to ensure the Air Force is ready for future operations," he said.
The foreign language skill proficiency bonus program is a transformational effort with far-reaching advantages for the Air Force, university programs and approximately 6,500 ROTC cadets, Colonel Valenzuela added. Air Force ROTC officials will encourage future cadets to gain proficiency in a foreign language, participate in cultural immersion programs and study abroad. Since the start of fall semester, more than 220 ROTC cadets have taken advantage of FLSPB. Air Force officials project more than 1,100 cadets will participate by next summer.
Air Force ROTC detachments are already pushing FLSPB.
"Air Force ROTC Det. 810 at Baylor University has been aggressive in its efforts to promote the new policy," Colonel Valenzuela said.
Baylor offers a wide range of languages such as Arabic, Dutch, French, Greek, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Swahili and Russian. Col. Danny Leonard, a Det. 810 professor of aerospace studies, said many cadets are already participating, since he announced the program this fall. More students have expressed interest in learning a foreign language as a result of the new policy.
Two examples of cadets taking advantage of the program are Cadet Amber Padgett and Cadet Sharya Qureshi. They are juniors in their third year of Japanese studies at Baylor. This semester, they will receive $1,200 -- $400 per semester hour -- upon successfully completing one class. Next year they are projected to receive $500 per semester hour for advanced courses.
One of the most enticing benefits of the new bonus is the $3,000 incentive to study abroad, which was designed to offset some of the high expenses associated with studying in a foreign country, Colonel Valenzuela said.
"I will be able to focus my time on studies versus having to split my attention between work and studies," Cadet Qureshi said.
Cadet Padgett will use the money to pay for school materials to further her foreign language proficiencies and cultural awareness.
"This is an exciting initiative in the Air Force's efforts to build cross-culturally competent capabilities across the force," Colonel Valenzuela said.
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