Learning a Foreign Language is an Asset in the Military - Term Paper Example

HERE HERE YOUR HERE HERE Learning a Foreign Language is an Asset in the Military It is relatively common knowledge that the United States military is involved in the international affairs of other countries and works to consistently promote concepts of democracy to a multitude of different nations. This is evident with today’s U.S. military presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. All of these regions maintain very different cultures and social beliefs, as well as a completely different language other than English, which requires specialized knowledge of foreign languages in order to build positive relationships with indigenous citizens and governmental representatives. Therefore, learning a foreign language is an asset in today’s military. One reason that adopting a second language is such an asset can be illustrated by recent terrorist activities which impact both citizens and representatives of the military. In 2001, a group of Arabic-speaking terrorists hijacked several American aircraft and used these planes to attack the World Trade Center in New York, as well as the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Because of this very real threat from terrorist activities, the need for military individuals who can speak both English and Arabic is necessary for issues of negotiation during terrorist activities and also to translate what might be said during surveillance efforts, such as with phone taps or email monitoring. One notable publication suggests that there are only 1,850 people in the U.S. Army who maintain the ability to speak Arabic (The Economist, 50), which only represents an extremely small percentage of the total men and women currently serving in the armed forces. The need for Arabic translators, as well as other foreign language translators, is “woefully short”, which has led to countless hours of audiotape achieved through surveillance to go untranslated (The Economist, 50). Additionally, military efforts to achieve intelligence about the scientific activities of other foreign nations have produced a vast variety of technical papers regarding nuclear weapons ambitions and many other potential threats to U.S. security (The Economist). What the aforementioned suggests is that there is a significant, potential threat to the stability of U.S. democracy which is posed by the inability to translate foreign language documents and audio, thus there is a major requirement for people to understand both English and other languages in order to assist in protecting the needs of American citizens. This is one reason why learning the second language is such a valuable asset as it provides career options for people looking to take the role of linguist or translator in the military and also fulfills a growing need for foreign language experts. Counterinsurgency efforts, such as those in today’s Iraq in the attempts to remove terrorists from control over certain regions, also reinforces why learning a second language is an asset. Many of these military leaders are forced to attempt communication with various Iraqi locals to discuss why these forces are in their communities and also determine whether any of the citizens maintain information about suspected terrorist hide-outs or insurgent activities. When these military professionals speak only English, it creates a situation where building positive community relationships are hindered by language barriers and they cannot get the needed assistance from various Iraqi citizens to provide intelligence about terrorist whereabouts. According to two notable authors, in relation to counterinsurgency efforts, a “future unit’s readiness should be measured by the number of quality foreign-language speakers in the unit’s rank” (Jaffe and Cloud, A.2.). Learning a second language, then, represents potential career opportunities for individuals in the military willing to adopt foreign language learning because it affords them the chance to take on roles of leadership in foreign environments. If a unit consists of no second language speakers, but is responsible for dealing with local community members of a different culture, the unit will likely not be very successful in managing human interaction or achieving local cooperation in military efforts. A second-language learning would be more than simply a soldier following orders in a foreign country, they would be thrust into a leadership position which would give them higher pay opportunities and the ability to stand out as a community leader within a country which may have mistrust for American military soldiers. This would bridge the language gap and make the process of counterinsurgency easier and more effective in the long-term. Gathering intelligence, also related to national security efforts, requires people who can speak more than just English especially when issues of intelligence-gathering are required. Sometimes, it is necessary to send a plain-clothed military expert into foreign community environments to gather information regarding business and economic efforts within the country as well as to learn the various social policies in the foreign country which drive beliefs and values (Morrow and Schoomaker, 4). This type of intelligence cannot be performed by a person or group which speaks English only as they would quickly give themselves away as a non-indigenous citizen and raise suspicion among the group of which intelligence is required, thus the intelligence mission would meet with zero success. The aforementioned is yet another example of why learning a second language is a quality asset for today’s U.S. military as it helps to guarantee the success of intelligence missions and also helps military leadership to understand the driving social systems of the local community so that military experts can interact successfully with the local communities or governmental agencies. Without the ability to translate these differences between foreign citizens and U.S. military officials, it is likely that misconceptions will arise which can lead to a poor community reputation for military representatives during their visitation to foreign countries. Additionally, during World War II, the United States recruited many Native Americans to assist in deciphering foreign language codes in order to gather information about military objectives or assault strikes (Morrow and Schoomaker). During this period, from 1941 to 1945, the country was at war with Germany, however many Germans clearly understood English and could easily listen in on communications between military professionals so as to learn of American plans for invasion or assault. By using Native American language, on the advice and assistance of other Native Americans, the country was able to send coded messages which could not be understood by opposing forces. The above again represents why learning a second language is highly important, especially on the battlefield when the opponents maintain the technology available to intercept classified messages and can quickly create new strategies to outperform American military soldiers. Having members of an assault team, as one example, who can fluently speak a foreign language (other than that of the combatant groups) can give the U.S. military a strategic advantage when communications are moving across electronic channels at risk of being monitored by enemy assailants. Finally, the U.S. government currently recruits multi-language experts for job roles in over 70 different departments (Morrow and Schoomaker). Though not all of these departments appear to be directly involved in supporting military efforts, these job opportunities for foreign-language speakers do provide some form of support for military regimes and are vital to ensuring the national security of the United States. From a career perspective and in terms of landing a long-term career with the military, it is clear that being able to speak a second language opens the doors for many more opportunities than that of other military officials and soldiers, offering a form of job security for those second-language speakers looking for stability with the U.S. government and the military. There are likely many other reasons why learning a second language is an asset in the military, however those described involve assisting the military in building positive community relationships, gathering the necessary intelligence to achieve military goals, provides long-term security for American citizens, and also provides opportunities for growth and advancement with one of the largest military organizations in the world. In today’s internationalized, global environment, it appears to be becoming more and more paramount to understand the cultures and practices of other foreign nations in order to create a global community. Because military leaders and soldiers are often the first point of contact with foreign nations and overseas governments, military-related organizations require individuals who can speak foreign languages fluently so that foreign concerns or problems can be discussed without margin for misinterpretation or generic misunderstanding. Clearly, learning a second language is a very large asset in the military and having the motivation to learn a foreign language can be a career-vaulting opportunity which offers excellent pay and a wide variety of opportunities for long-term job security. It also provides the opportunity to expand beyond the military duty, if desired, and move into different career paths such as with the CIA or the FBI for various intelligence or translation efforts. It may even provide the opportunity to see the world by being chosen as a representative with the skills and knowledge necessary to make a positive, lasting impression on global citizens in the process. Bibliography Jaffe, G. and D. Cloud. ‘Pentagon’s New War Planning to Stress Postconflict Stability; Foreign-language Training New Intelligence Technology Would be Mandated Policy’. Wall Street Journal, New York, NY. 25 Oct 2004: A.2. Morrow, Joyce E. and Peter J. Schoomaker. ‘Applied Language Learning’. Vol. 16, No.1. Accessed 13 Mar 2009. The Economist. ‘United States: Know thine enemy; Foreign languages and security’. London. 7 May 2005, Vol. 375, Iss. 8425: 50. Accessed 13 Mar 2009 Read More