The job title "military linguist" sounds pretty impressive, right? It should, since linguists work around the world to translate highly classified documents and connect with troops and allied forces.
Military linguists contribute to lethality. Some translate intercepted communications that can lead to taking out a weapons cache or striking a meeting of terrorist leaders. Others interrogate prisoners to obtain information that can protect friendly forces or bring down enemy combatants. Through their familiarity with the language and culture, linguists can monitor the general mood and attitudes in communities where U.S. forces are present. That contact can both contribute to good relationships and uncover valuable intelligence.
You don’t have to know anything but English to go into that career, either. That’s where the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center comes in. It’s one of the world’s foremost language schools that can make you fluent quickly, whether you’re learning Arabic, Farsi, Pashto or Mandarin Chinese.
So Many Languages, So Little Time
The DLIFLC teaches 17 foreign languages at its headquarters in Monterey, California, and can instruct another 65 languages through its Washington, D.C., branch. There are also several language training detachments at sites in the continental U.S., Europe, Hawaii and South Korea. Most enlisted students take its immersion courses to go into military intelligence jobs, while federal employees from other agencies, such as the FBI and National Security Agency, also go there.
It’s Tough … But Possible
As you might expect, the courses are intense: we’re talking six to seven hours a day (NOT including homework), five days a week, and they last for 64 weeks over three semesters. The key to getting through? Link your interests with the language so you can stay motivated and keep up. The school helps with that: it offers cooking days, storytelling about legendary warriors and heroes and even takes students on trips to get them to appreciate the culture they’re studying.
Success Rate
In general, the success rate for DLI students is 75 percent. Some can’t keep up academically, while others fail out due to disciplinary reasons. Most of the students who do succeed, however, reach the college level of understanding within a year and a half. That’s an amazingly quick amount of time!