NationStates Jolt Archive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4760353.stm
US troops' language bonus boosted

The US needs soldiers who can communicate with locals abroad
US soldiers who know a language other than English are to have their bonus payments from the military increased - in some cases by more than threefold.
The US is desperately short of troops who speak the local language in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Under the new offer, soldiers can earn as much as $12,000 (£6,400) extra a year for speaking a foreign language.

The US military listed Arabic, Dari, Pashtu and Mandarin Chinese among the languages it needs soldiers to speak.

Soldiers on active duty who qualify for the new bonus can receive up to $1,000 (£538) extra a month, while qualified National Guard soldiers and reservists can earn up to $500 (£269) a month more, the US military said.

The current maximum bonus a US soldier can earn for speaking an extra language is $300 (£161) a month.

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt Col Ellen Krenke told the Reuters news agency the amount of bonus payment soldiers receive will depend on the languages they speak - and how well they speak them.

Lt Col Krenke said some 247,000 US soldiers spoke a language other than English, of which some 20,000 had their language skills certified by the military and claimed the relevant bonus.

She said about 7,000 US soldiers spoke Arabic.

A good idea. But then...this certainly isn't enough. Only 7000 of one and a half million who speak Arabic?
It seems to be one of the major problems the US troops have on their missions, that they can't communicate with the locals, they often lack cultural awareness and tends to get a rather cold reception after a while.

So wouldn't it be better to spend a few billions on language and culture training (for example, add an extra two weeks oe more to basic training + more specific mission training if applicable) than on yet another new missile?

So wouldn't it be better to spend a few billions on language and culture training (for example, add an extra two weeks oe more to basic training + more specific mission training if applicable) than on yet another new missile?

Yes, but that would be smart, which means it's not going to happen anytime soon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4760353.stm


A good idea. But then...this certainly isn't enough. Only 7000 of one and a half million who speak Arabic?
It seems to be one of the major problems the US troops have on their missions, that they can't communicate with the locals, they often lack cultural awareness and tends to get a rather cold reception after a while.

So wouldn't it be better to spend a few billions on language and culture training (for example, add an extra two weeks oe more to basic training + more specific mission training if applicable) than on yet another new missile?

I would say the major problems the US troops have on their missions is the massive knobs attached to their heads.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4760353.stm


A good idea. But then...this certainly isn't enough. Only 7000 of one and a half million who speak Arabic?
It seems to be one of the major problems the US troops have on their missions, that they can't communicate with the locals, they often lack cultural awareness and tends to get a rather cold reception after a while.

So wouldn't it be better to spend a few billions on language and culture training (for example, add an extra two weeks oe more to basic training + more specific mission training if applicable) than on yet another new missile?That's been around for a long long time. Except it fails to mention that being able to speak Spanish no longer gets you that bonus (too many).

The only language these people understand is violence.

That's been around for a long long time. Except it fails to mention that being able to speak Spanish no longer gets you that bonus (too many).
Seeing as they started recruiting people from Hondorus etc?

I would say the major problems the US troops have on their missions is the massive knobs attached to their heads.
They are cameras and optical vision equipment...

Seeing as they started recruiting people from Hondorus etc?Nah, it's all the hispanic citizens. You know some states have Spanish as an official language.

I suspect a lot more Iraqi soldiers speak English than US soldiers Arabic, likewise in Afghanistan with the languages there spoken.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4760353.stm


A good idea. But then...this certainly isn't enough. Only 7000 of one and a half million who speak Arabic?
It seems to be one of the major problems the US troops have on their missions, that they can't communicate with the locals, they often lack cultural awareness and tends to get a rather cold reception after a while.

So wouldn't it be better to spend a few billions on language and culture training (for example, add an extra two weeks oe more to basic training + more specific mission training if applicable) than on yet another new missile?


Let's think about that - how long does it take to obtain basic proficiency in Arabic?

I bet it takes at least a year - and would require 100% of the soldier's time on location at a school like Monterey.

During that time, the soldier would not be available for any other purpose - or any other training.

Even then, the so-called "Monterey Marys" are not considered very good - and it's a damned good school. They then require several years of speaking and listening to the language to really get acquainted.

So, that means in order to get enough people to speak the language, we need 1 year where they aren't available for duty as infantrymen, armored vehicle crewmen, etc., and then another two years getting used to the language.

It's not really a matter of money, it's a matter of manpower and time.

So, let's recruit people with the ability to learn languages (we can start by drafting anyone in college who is a language major), and increase the size of the Army by 100,000 translators, and wait three years for it all to mature.

This is why I think it's cheaper and easier to bomb the living crap out of a country, kill the majority of its inhabitants, and convince the locals that they are defeated. Something we failed to do in Iraq.

They are in desperate need of people who speak Mandarin China?! I find this rather frightening....

The only language these people understand is violence.

Tograna slaps Harlesburg around with a bit of wet trout.

They are in desperate need of people who speak Mandarin China?! I find this rather frightening....
It's called forward thinking. It takes years to get a decent speaker, reader, and writer of Mandarin Chinese.

Should we wait until a crisis happens before we start a training program? Eh?

This is why I think it's cheaper and easier to bomb the living crap out of a country, kill the majority of its inhabitants, and convince the locals that they are defeated. Something we failed to do in Iraq.

You're not advocating this are you?

It's called forward thinking. It takes years to get a decent speaker, reader, and writer of Mandarin Chinese.

Should we wait until a crisis happens before we start a training program? Eh?

It is frightening nevertheless. You sorta missed my point... The fact that US Army says it desperately needs people who can talk in Chinese indicates that... Well. Nothing good anyways.

It is frightening nevertheless. You sorta missed my point... The fact that US Army says it desperately needs people who can talk in Chinese indicates that... Well. Nothing good anyways.

The US military has to be ready to fight a war against virtually any nation.

I guess you're not up on the political situation in Asia. Yes, China is a major US trading partner. But it's also done interesting things like lay claim to the entire South China Sea, and still lays claim to Taiwan, with whom the US has a defense agreement. Not to mention other issues like maritime security around Japan, which China contests on a regular basis with submarines.

But go ahead and think it's a bad thing. It would be far worse to never anticipate what might go wrong.

Maybe you just like it when the US gets Pearl Harbored, or when things like 9-11 happen. Then you can criticize the US for its lack of foresight and vision, lack of preparation, and how stupid the President is for not anticipating these things.

Calm down, man. No need to start ranting bullshit about how I like seeing Americans die. I never said a bad word about US Army or anything, where are you pulling this shit from? I merely pointed out that preparations are made for a war against in China, and I find that frightening.

Other thing, I know geopolitical situation in Asia very well, thank you. No need for a lecture. But the question is really, for what could these "desperately needed" chinese-speaking soldier be needed for, if not war? And you see nothing scary in this?

Or meaby you just like seeing US military using it's fancy toys in TV, bombing, explotions, dead bodies and shooting?

Baby Killer!

Calm down, man. No need to start ranting bullshit about how I like seeing Americans die. I never said a bad word about US Army or anything, where are you pulling this shit from? I merely pointed out that preparations are made for a war against in China, and I find that frightening.

Other thing, I know geopolitical situation in Asia very well, thank you. No need for a lecture. But the question is really, for what could these "desperately needed" chinese-speaking soldier be needed for, if not war? And you see nothing scary in this?

I would be far more concerned if the Department of Defense didn't have detailed plans for a conflict with the People's Republic of China. China is an unfree country, which sells weapons to the United States' enemies, routinely threatens their allies, and crashes fighters jets into U.S. military aircraft. They claim the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by American allies Japan and Taiwan.

We don't know what Sino-American relations will be like in ten years -- heck, even five years, and if preperations aren't made now, any potential conflict with China would put the U.S. at a serious disadvantage.

I doubt many of our soldiers are intelligent enough to learn a language like Arabic.

It's not just a question of speaking the enemies language. What if we have to invade North Korea? It might help if we had soldiers who could communicate with the Chinese, since they would surely have an interest in any such conflict. For that matter, it wouldn't be bad idea to have troops who knew Japanese for similar reasons, even though we likely wouldn't be fighting them.

I would be far more concerned if the Department of Defense didn't have detailed plans for a conflict with the People's Republic of China. China is an unfree country, which sells weapons to the United States' enemies, routinely threatens their allies, and crashes fighters jets into U.S. military aircraft. They claim the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by American allies Japan and Taiwan.

Oh noes! A lack of freedom in a country that's none of your fucking business and is generally neutral in international affairs!

And the Americans have sold billions' worth in weapons to countries that are now their enemies, and even given groups like the Taliban weaponry.

The USA threatens just about anyone who isn't state-capitalist and the USAF has caused a fair few "friendly fire" casualties on British forces (like shooting down our Chinooks, with soldiers inside them).

And I thought that the USA didn't officially recognise Taiwan...

We don't know what Sino-American relations will be like in ten years -- heck, even five years, and if preperations aren't made now, any potential conflict with China would put the U.S. at a serious disadvantage.

They'll be exceptionally crap if the new government uses the same foreign policy as it does now, in the next two or three years, especially if you invade Iran.

And let's face it - you'd lose whatever preparations you made, if the Chinese actually wanted to crush the USA.

Oh noes! A lack of freedom in a country that's none of your fucking business and is generally neutral in international affairs!

And the Americans have sold billions' worth in weapons to countries that are now their enemies, and even given groups like the Taliban weaponry.
.

Preach it brother. Worry about your own country, noone has any business interfering in any other one. In fact, politics here in the USA are too difficult, why don't we nuke the whole place, wipe out the entire population? We could save about 100 republicans to repopulate north america. Or maybe the Russians or the Chinese dont like the way we do things. I think they should nuke us and repopulate. By some people's logic here it would be justified. Morons.