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DLI Prepares Service Members for Language, Culture in Afghanistan, Pakistan

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS110301-21
3/1/2011

By Robin Holland, Training Support Center Hampton Roads Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- Addressing the increasing need to help service members get a better understanding of language and culture prior to deployment, Defense Language Institute (DLI) held their first Afghanistan and Pakistan (AF-PAK) Hands graduation ceremony at the Naval Air Station(NAS) Oceana Dam Neck Annex, Feb. 11.

The AF-PAK Hands course was designed to raise language proficiency among service members by providing an intense 16 week course in which students spend six hours a day, not to include homework, five days a week.

"Sixteen weeks of language training translates to a college semester which is 30 to 40 hours and we go through that in one week plus the students work with their teachers during lunch just to get to where they are today," said Steve Collins, assistant provost, DLI.

As part of the ceremony, guests were treated to a demonstration in which graduates showed off their new language proficiency skills by speaking Dari, Pashto, and Urdu.

During his remarks, Collins gave special thanks to Mr. Michael Dochterman, DLI Program Lead.

"You are a wonderful professional Michael, I really appreciate your calmness, your work ethic and all the efforts you have put forth to make this a successful site, I really appreciate it," said Collins.

Dochterman is a former retired Army Master Sgt., who relocated his family from California to run the DLI program at Dam Neck.

According to Collins, DLI had just six to eight weeks to find a location and to get it ready to accept the first batch of students.

"It was the great work of the Training Support Center Organization, Mr. Jim McMillan and Mr. Brian White that really supported us whole-heartedly," said Collins.

DLI has a long-standing tradition of preparing troops to speak local languages dating the back to the World War II (WWII) days when DLI was established to teach soldiers Japanese. Today, DLI's mission is to provide Culturally-based foreign language education, training, evaluation, and sustainment for DOD personnel in order to ensure the success of the Defense Language Program and enhance the security of the nation.