language enabled airman program (leap) 2014...

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http://culture.af.mil/ Page 1 of 15 [email protected] 334.953.7729 In this Issue: Director’s Message (p.3) Special Feature: AU Passes Critical QEP Milestone (p.4) Special Feature: AFCLC Attends IUS Symposium (p.6) Airman uses LEAP experience to enhance AFSOUTH mission (p.9) AFCLC Delivers 3,000 Culture Field Guides to S. Korea (p.11) Save the Date: Enrollment window for spring 2015 ses- sion of “Introduction to Culture” (ITC): 3-16 Mar 2015; course dates 26 Mar-1 Jul 2014 Enrollment window for summer 2015 session of “Introduc- tion to Cross-Cultural Communication” (3C): 7-20 Apr 2015; course dates 30 Apr-5 Aug 2015 Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP) 2014 Selection Board “Best to Date” Members of the Fall 2014 Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP) selection board stand in front of the Fairchild Research Information Center at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, on the second day of the scoring process, September 18, 2014. (Photo by Brandon M. Bridges) by Brandon M. Bridges Air Force Culture and Lan- guage Center MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – For three days in September, the selec- tion board for the Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP) convened at the Air Force Culture and Language Center (AFCLC). Headed by Ms. eresa Sanchez, Deputy Senior Language Authority for the Air Force, the board reviewed the applications of hundreds of candidates seek- ing entry to the program. Convened on Wednesday, September 17th, 2014, the board met for two additional days, vetting the backgrounds and achievements of a broad field of applicants, the first stage of a process seeking to identify approximately 400 “able and willing” candidates. “I didn’t envy the board mem- bers’ jobs, because the pool was very high quality, “said Lt Col Julie Solberg, Chief of the Language Division. “ere were a lot of tough decisions.” In a typical year, the selection board meets twice: once in the spring, to review applica- tions from enlisted Airmen, and a second time in the fall, to review applications from commissioned officers and officer candidates. is year, the board met a single time to consider and review all ap- plications. In all, 665 applica- tions were received, covering 54 languages: 362 from of- ficers, 206 from enlisted, and 97 from cadets. e prin- ciple objective of the selec- tion board was to evaluate the 665 applicants based on their experience and background. Results were released in early November. e 15-member board con- sisted of language profession- als from diverse groups such as HAF/A1/A2, AFPC, DLI, IHS, MSAS, USAFA, ROTC, SAF/IA, AETC, and SOUTH- COM. e 2014 board was notable for being the largest to date, with more board members and more records See LEAP, Page 8

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http://culture.af.mil/ Page 1 of [email protected] 334.953.7729

In this Issue:

• Director’sMessage(p.3)

• SpecialFeature:AUPassesCriticalQEPMilestone(p.4)

• SpecialFeature:AFCLCAttendsIUSSymposium(p.6)

• AirmanusesLEAPexperiencetoenhanceAFSOUTHmission(p.9)

• AFCLCDelivers3,000CultureFieldGuidestoS.Korea(p.11)

Save the Date:• Enrollmentwindow

forspring2015ses-sionof“IntroductiontoCulture”(ITC):3-16Mar2015;coursedates26Mar-1Jul2014

• Enrollmentwindowforsummer2015sessionof“Introduc-tiontoCross-CulturalCommunication”(3C):7-20Apr2015;coursedates30Apr-5Aug2015

Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP)2014 Selection Board “Best to Date”

MembersoftheFall2014LanguageEnabledAirmanProgram(LEAP)selectionboardstandinfrontoftheFairchildResearchInformationCenteratMaxwellAirForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama,ontheseconddayofthescoringprocess,September18,2014.(PhotobyBrandonM.Bridges)

by Brandon M. BridgesAir Force Culture and Lan-guageCenter

MAXWELL AIR FORCEBASE, Ala. – For three daysin September, the selec-tion board for the LanguageEnabled Airman Program(LEAP) convened at the AirForce Culture and LanguageCenter(AFCLC).HeadedbyMs.TheresaSanchez,DeputySenior Language Authorityfor the Air Force, the boardreviewed the applications ofhundredsofcandidatesseek-ingentrytotheprogram.

Convened on Wednesday,September 17th, 2014, theboardmetfortwoadditionaldays,vettingthebackgrounds

andachievementsof abroadfield of applicants, the firststage of a process seeking toidentify approximately 400“ableandwilling”candidates.

“Ididn’tenvytheboardmem-bers’ jobs, because the poolwasveryhighquality,“saidLtColJulieSolberg,ChiefoftheLanguage Division. “Therewerealotoftoughdecisions.”

Inatypicalyear,theselectionboard meets twice: once inthespring,toreviewapplica-tions from enlisted Airmen,andasecondtimeinthefall,to review applications fromcommissioned officers andofficercandidates. Thisyear,the board met a single timetoconsiderandreviewallap-plications.Inall,665applica-

tionswere received, covering54 languages: 362 from of-ficers,206fromenlisted,and97 from cadets. The prin-ciple objective of the selec-tionboardwastoevaluatethe665applicantsbasedontheirexperience and background.ResultswerereleasedinearlyNovember.

The 15-member board con-sistedoflanguageprofession-als fromdiverse groups suchas HAF/A1/A2, AFPC, DLI,IHS,MSAS, USAFA, ROTC,SAF/IA,AETC,andSOUTH-COM.

The 2014 board was notablefor being the largest to date,with more board membersandmorerecords

See LEAP, Page 8

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The Air Force Culture and Language Center was founded at Air University in April 2006, embracing the Air Force Chief of Staff’s intention to improve Airmen’s cross-cultural competence.

In April 2007, the Air Force further demonstrated its commitment to culture learning by selecting cross-cul-tural competence as the centerpiece of Air University’s re-accreditation efforts. In December 2007, the Center was made responsible for culture and language train-ing, as well as education, across the entire Air Force. The Air Force Research Institute hosts the AFCLC.

600 Chennault Circle Bldg 1405Maxwell AFB, AL 36112Phone: 334.953.7729Fax: 334.953.1614E-mail: [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter @AFCLC or Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/airforcecultureandlanguagecenter

Public Website: http://culture.af.mil/For Common Access Card users on the .gov or .mil domains, language, region and culture training is available at https://wwwmil.maxwell.af.mil/afclc/

AFCLC VISIONThe Air Force Culture and Language Center, as the acknowledged experts, will lead the U.S. Air Force in building a cross-culturally competent Total Force to meet the demands of the Service’s

dynamic global mission.

AFCLC MISSIONThe Air Force Culture and Language Center creates and executes language, region and cultural

learning programs for Total Force Airmen, and provides the Service with the subject matter expertise required to institutionalize these efforts.

Colleagues,

In my time as Acting Directorof the Air Force Culture andLanguage Center, I have beengreatly impressed by all thehard work you have done in somany areas. Although I havebeen affiliated with the academicresearchcenters since2012, Ididnot fully appreciate the myriadof activities you in the AFCLC are involvedwith.We truly have a remarkable teamdoingsome great things for the AF and DoD.

Havingservednotjustathomebutalsoabroad,I have seen the need for what we do borneout in therealworld. TheAirForcesupportsmissionsaroundtheworldsowhenwegointoaforeigncountryitisnotenoughthatwesimplyknowthelanguage,wealsohavetoknowhowto properly interact with the local populace.

Recently while serving at the InternationalSecurity Assistance Force in Kabul,Afghanistan, I interacted with our Afghancounterparts, aswell asmanyofour coalitionpartners. The experience proved to be notonly rewarding, but illuminating as well. Igained a unique opportunity to see a highlydiversegroupofcultures.Itreallydrovehomehow important it is for all of us to be cross-culturally capable. I actually utilized ourfield guide inmypreparation and found it sohelpfulIendeduprecommendingittoothers.

Inthespaceofonlythese lastseveralmonths,we have made some excellent strides inenhancing our contribution to theAir Force’slanguagecapability.Inparticular,wehaveseendemand for our Expeditionary Culture FieldGuides increase significantly, then recentlywe provided over three thousand copies of

the SouthKorea culture guide tosupport Airmen working in thatcountry. We will also soon beadding five new field guides tosupplementthe28wealreadyhave.

Additionally, as you all know,werecently held the 2014 selectionboard for the Language EnabledAirmanProgram.Asaparticipantof the program, I have a deep

appreciation for the amount of effort that ittakes to make LEAP successful on a routinebasis. Even that could not have preparedmefor the amount of work and coordinationinvolved in preparing for and carrying out asuccessful selection board. This year’s boardwas the largest we have held, both in termsof the number of board members and thenumber of records reviewed. We receivedcomplimentsontheoutstandingsupportfrombothboardmembersandourAFRIleadership.It would not have been possible without thededication and professionalism displayedby our Language and Assessment Divisions.

Every leader wants to believe their team isthebest; inmyshort timehere, Icansay thatforme this ismore than just a belief. I haveheard frommany of youhow this has been adifficulttimeoftransitionandIrealizewearenotthroughityet.However,Iamappreciativeoftheopportunitytoworkthroughthischangewith you and know that as we focus on thepositive we will continue to accomplish greatthings. Wehavethepotentialtoimpacteverymission being carried out by the Air Forceworldwide,andIknowthatwehave therightpeople to make that impact a positive one.

LtColToddButler,USAFActingDirector,AFCLC

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by Brandon M. BridgesAirForceCultureandLanguageCenter

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. –In 2009, Air University (AU) launchedits Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), afive-year endeavor which plays a signifi-cantroleintheAUaccreditationrenewaleffort. As its topic, theQEP focused ondeveloping cross-culturally competentAirmen through the Professional Mili-tary Education (PME) system. In Sep-tember 2014, that effort passed a majormilestone: the completion of its finalEducational Program Review (EPR).

The QEP defines cross-cultural compe-tence (3C) as “the ability to quickly andaccurately comprehend, then appropri-ately and effectively act, in a culturallycomplex environment to achieve the de-sired effect.” and identifies four studentlearning outcomes (SLOs) crucial to de-veloping cross-culturally competent Air-men: content (or declarative) knowledge,3C skills, 3C attitudes, and the applica-

tion of 3C concepts in novel contexts.

History

Likeanyuniversity,AirUniversityrequiresperiodicreaccreditation,andakeycompo-nentofthatprocessisadocumentedQEP.Atthetimeofitsinception,theSACSRe-affirmation Committee remarked of theplan, “The scope of this QEP is broad,touching…on six academic units of AirUniversity… Whileambitious, [it] isnottrying todo toomuchat anyonepoint.”

TheSouthernAssociationofCollegesandSchools(SACS)definesaQEPas“acare-fullydesignedcourseofactiontoaddressauniversity’seducationalneeds.”LikeanyotherQEP, thatbeingundertakenbyAUentailsathoroughinstitutionalassessment,selectionofone topic to improve studentlearning,andestablishmentofmeasurableobjectives.WithintheframeworkofaQEP,AU selected its own topic for improve-ment,whichwasthenevaluatedbySACS.

AU’s QEP is widely regarded as an am-

bitious undertaking, unprecedented inscope; no institution the size of the AirForce has systematically built 3C acrossits entire force over a single generation.With a focus on providing educationto officers and enlisted personnel of allranks and occupational specialties, thisQEPhasabroadambitiontopromote3Cacross the entire general purpose force.

Despite that far-reachingscope, thisQEPis also relevant, since developing Air-men’s 3C helps achieve mission successandavoid thepotentialpitfallsofoperat-ing in culturally complex environments.

“Cross-culturalcompetencewaschosenasthe area of improvement because of howimportant it is to theAirForce’songoingmission,” said Mr. Olin Goodhue, Chiefof Mission Support at the AFCLC. “Air-men stationed all around the world areperforming themissionwhile interactingwith cultures which range from superfi-cially similar to radically different to ourown. It’sabsolutely important toprovidethese Airmen with the knowledge and

AU QEP Passes Key Milestone September 2014 skillsnecessarytooperateandsucceedinthese environments over the long term.”

Purpose and Scope

As conceived in 2009, the AU QEP laidout the vision “to create and implementa scientifically sound and institution-ally sustainable plan to develop and as-sesscross-culturalcompetenceacrossAirUniversity’scontinuumofeducation.”Dr.Patricia Fogarty, Assistant Professor ofCross-Cultural Relations at the AFCLC,instructs the Introduction to Culturedistance learning course for the Com-munityCollegeof theAirForce(CCAF),one of the flagship courses of the QEP.

“Let’s say you learn about body lan-guage,” said Dr. Fogarty in reference tothe SLOs. “You can identify all the ges-turesby studyingphotos. That’sdeclara-tive knowledge. The test of proceduralknowledge, of learned skills, would be ifyoucouldapplyyourknowledgeofbodylanguage toward a successful communi-cation exchange with someone from an-otherculture.Forexample,doyouunder-standwhytheotherpersonisstandingsoclosetoyou,ortryingtoholdyourhand?Then,for3Cattitudes,youwouldhavetoshowanopennesstomeetingandtalkingwith people from other cultures. It re-quiresawillingnesstolearnfromothers.”

The fourth SLO emphasizes that itis important for Airmen to be ableto transfer their classroom train-ing to the operational environment.

Findings

With the delivery of the final EPR,AU completed the implementationphase of the QEP, and began report-ing its findings. Those findings, as re-ported by Dr. Brian Selmeski and theAFCLC Assessments Division, indicatethat Air University demonstrated vary-ingdegrees of improvementon all SLOs.

In assessing content knowledge and 3Cskills SLOs, AU demonstrated improve-ment across the board, and achievednearly every educational goal it set. AUdemonstrated proficiency with instruc-tion, and proved able to effectively re-late concepts to a learning audience.

Although there was demonstrated im-provement with the other two SLOs, 3Cattitudesandapplication,theresultswerenot as pronounced. This is due in partto thenatureof theSLOs themselves; at-titudesareparticularlydifficult tochangeover the relatively short-termof a courseatAU. Assessment for the various SLOsonly covers changes before and after acourse; like any skill, attitudes and ap-plication of 3C improve as Airmen re-

peatedly come in contact with 3C con-cepts over the course of their careers.

The transfer of classroom instructionto novel contexts SLO has been a well-documented challenge in education andtrainingresearchfordecades.Despitetheinherentdifficulty,theAFCLCwasabletoshowsomeimprovementinthisareausingsituationaljudgmenttests(SJTs),scenario-basedmultiplechoiceteststhataredesignedtotestanAirmen’sabilitytoapply3Cskillsandconceptstoachievemissionoutcomesin a hypothetical, cross-cultural context.

What’s Next?

The final educational program review(EPR) marked the conclusion of theQEP’s implementation, and the progres-sion into its assessment and reportingphase. Thenext step takes the formofareportfroma5-yearImpactStudy,whichwill be used as part of the evaluation bytheSouthernAssociationofCollegesandSchools (SACS) when making its finaldetermination on accreditation renewal.

Dr. Brian Selmeski, Chief of Plans for the Air Force Culture and Language Center (AFCLC) presents an Educational Program Review (EPR) on the Air University Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) during a Board of Visitors event on Monday, 17 November 2015. (AFCLC photo by Brandon M. Bridges) For more information

on the AU QEP, visit uson the Web:

http://culture.af.mil/QEP/

Dr. Brian Selmeski, Chief of Plans for the Air Force Culture and Language Center (AFCLC) presents an Educational Program Review (EPR) on the Air University Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) on Monday, 4 November 2013. (AFCLC photo by Jodi L. Jordan)

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by Brandon M. BridgesAirForceCultureandLanguageCenter

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -Thecharterof theAirForceCulture andLanguage Center (AFCLC) defines itsmission as one of “defining, coordinat-ing, and implementing cultural, regional,andforeignlanguageeducationandtrain-ingprogramstosatisfyAirForcerequire-ments.”Fewopportunitiesfitthatmissionnarrative better than the Inter-Univer-sity Seminar (IUS), which took place inOttawa, Canada, in September 2014.

“ThiskindofeventgoestotheverycoreofwhattheAFCLCis,”saidLtColToddButler,ActingDirectoroftheAFCLC.“Ourmis-sionistohelpdevelopcross-culturalcom-petence inourmilitary. Events like IUS,whichareallaboutbreakingdownbarriersandengagingwithourglobalpartners,giveus a golden opportunity to do just that.”

AccordingtoitspublicWebsite,IUSis“aforumfortheinterchangeandassessmentof research and scholarship in the socialand behavioral sciences dealing with themilitary establishment and civil-militaryrelations.” ItsFellows includeacademics,militaryofficers,researchers,andstudentsfrom over 35 countries, and while theymay “differ widely in their strategic andpolitical outlooks,” they share the com-monviewthat“objectiveresearchonmili-tary organizations is a worthy endeavor.”

Indeed,aspartofanongoingtransforma-tion across the whole of Air University(AU), theAUCommanderandPresidenthave signaled a renewed enthusiasm forevents of this sort. “Faculty, scholar-ship, and conferences,” LtGenKwast ex-plains in his written vision, are “criticalto our relevance and essential to being aworld-classinstitutionofhigherlearning.”

“ConferencesliketheIUSareanexcellentopportunitytomeetotheracademicswhoaredoingsimilarworktowhatwedoattheAFCLC,”saidDr.AngelleKhachadoorian,AssistantProfessorofAnthropologyattheAFCLC. “That face to face interaction is

crucial. We benefit as scholars, and theAir Force benefits from the exchange ofideas that we have with other scholars.”

Dr.Khachadoorianwasoneof threeAF-CLC facultymembers toattend the sym-posium. Also in attendance were Dr.Patricia Fogarty, Assistant Professor ofCross-Cultural Relations, and Dr. BrianSelmeski, Chief of Plans. They joined amultitude of representatives from amul-titude of countries around the world.

“It gives us the opportunity to networkand exchange ideas,” said Dr. Selmes-ki, “giving us a broad range of ideasand viewpoints from across the globe.”

During the two-day event, a total of 18panels convened, each featuring presen-tations by academics and practitionersattending the symposium. In all, fiftypapers were presented, covering topicsranging from “The Soldier-Host CitizenContract:U.S.MilitaryDoctrine and theAmbivalent Principles of Host CitizenProtection”(byLisaKarlborgofSweden),to“ThinkTanks,Academia,CivilSocietyand Government Agencies: the FrenchDebate on National Security” (by Dr.SamiMakki,ofFrance),andmanyothers.

Each faculty member from the AF-CLC made presentations of their own.Dr. Khachadoorian presented her pa-

per, “What Would Custer Do?: Teach-inganUnderstandingofTribalValues toAmericanMilitaryPersonnel,”onthefirstday, at a panel chairedbyMortenEnder.

In her talk, Dr. Khachadoorian pointsout that military personnel often de-ploy to areas where tribal groups aresignificant political and social ac-tors, but frequently lack the trainingto properly interact with those groups.

“Course offerings at American Profes-sional Military Education institutionstend to focus lessonpre-nationalgroupsand more on the Westphalian nation-state,” said Dr. Khachadoorian. “ThatWestphalian concept doesn’t necessarilyreflect reality in the areas where the AirForce operates. Ifwe’re going to be suc-cessful in thoseareas,wehave tobeabletointeractwithandrelatetoourpartners.”

On the second day, at a panel he alsochaired, Dr. Selmeski presented his ownwork, titled “Mirror, Mirror: Study-ing and teaching US military cultureto improve security cooperation.” Hispaper suggests that while it’s critical toteach the USmilitary about foreign cul-tures, it’s just as important to help oth-ers understand US military culture.

“TheeffortsbytheUSArmedForcesoverthepastdecadetoteachservicemembers

AFCLC Faculty Participates in Inter-University Seminarin Ottawa, Canada

abouttheculturalbeliefsandpracticesofothershavebeensignificant,”Dr.Selmeskiwrites.“Unfortunately,thoseeffortshaven’tbeen complemented with commensurateefforts to understand our own culture.”

Asaresultofthat,Dr.Selmeskiexplains,USmilitarypersonnelareoftenblindtohowdifferentlytheyperceiveandreacttositu-ationscomparedtointernationalpartners.

“Wehavetoturnourculturalmicroscopeinto a cultural mirror,” Dr. Selmeski ex-plains. “Studying our military’s culture,andthenteachingthatculturetoourselvesand our international partners, is no lessimportant than studying other culturesandteachingthatculturetoourmilitary.”

Dr. Selmeski’s presentation was fol-lowed by one from fellow AFCLC fac-ulty member Dr. Patricia Fogarty. Herpresentation involved a paper she co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Tucker,titled “Educating Airmen about Sys-tems Thinking & Civ-Mil Partnerships.”

The paper traces its origins to an elec-tive being taught by Drs. Fogartyand Tucker at the Air Force Com-mand and Staff College (ACSC).

“My goal was to help students under-stand the motivations, processes, andperspectives common to NGOs andother nonmilitary organizations thatpartner with the military,” Dr. Fogartyexplains. “Dr. Tucker immediately sawthe potential for approaching the topicthrough the lens of systems thinking.As an anthropologist, I approach cul-ture from a holistic perspective, whichmeshesquitewellwithsystemsthinking.”

A holistic approach, according to Dr.Fogarty, isonewhoseelementsareclose-ly interconnected, and must be takenin the context of the greater whole. Insimilar vein, systems thinking analyzesevents, behaviors, and environmen-tal factors, as a part of holistic systems.

“Thegoal,”addsDr.Fogarty,“istoidentify

the interrelationshipsof systemelements,andlookforcyclesthatleadtocertainout-comes,ratherthanfocusingonlyonlinearcause-and-effectrelationships. It leadstounderstanding how those interrelation-shipsmayleadtounintendedconsequenc-es over time, and help identify points ofleverage to reduce those consequences.”

“It’s always gratifying to see our facultyattending events like this,” said Lt ColButler. “I served in Afghanistan at theInternational Security Assistance Force’sJoint Command, and I’ve seen up closethat each of our peer nations brings auniquebackgroundandviewpoint to thetable. If you understand going in thatthat’sgoingtobethecase,thenyou’veal-readybeguntoequipyourselfforsuccess.”

For more information on the Inter-University Semi-

nar, visit their Web site:http://www.iusafs.org/

DRAFT CONCURRENT SESSIONS SCHEDULE CURRENT VERSION (30 SEPTEMBER, 2014)

Saturday, October 18

0830 - 1000 Session A – The experience of intervention Panel Chair: Lisa Karlborg Lisa Karlborg - The Soldier-Host Citizen Contract: U.S. Military Doctrine and the Ambivalent Principles of Host Citizen Protection Sami Makki - Looking for Best Practices in Crisis Management : a Comparative Analysis of Standards and Procedures for Civil-Military Integration Session B – Values, attitudes, and military intervention Panel Chair: Morten Ender Charles Kirke - ‘Values and Standards’ as a Command Leadership and Management Tool Angelle Khachadoorian - What Would Custer Do?: Teaching An Understanding of Tribal Values to American Military Personnel Morten Ender - Cadet and Civilian Undergraduate Attitudes toward Transgender People Victoria Tait – The Generational Transmission of Gender Stereotyping in CF Combat Arms Session C – Canadian Peacekeeping in Perspective Panel Chair: Joshua Libben Joshua Libben - The Canadian Departure from Peacekeeping: The Role of Strategic Subcultures in Troop Contributions Rachel Lea Heide and John Alan Boyd - Preparing for Future Military Humanitarian Assistance Operations: Canadian and American Perspectives and the Haiti 2010 Earthquake Case Study

Saturday, October 18 1030 – 1200

Session A – Militaries and Innovation Panel Chair: Maya Eichler Gary Schaub Jr. - Military Innovation: UAVs in the Canadian Forces Maya Eichler and Krystel Chapman - Engendering Military Deployment: Female Soldiers and Military Families in Canada Ross McGarry – Doing Military Repatriation Research. Session B – Implications and consequences of military choices Panel Chair: John DeRosa James Burk - Military Force and the Defense of Freedom Srdjan Vucetic - The International Politics of Fighter Jet Transfers John DeRosa - Civil-Military Relations in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding: A Case Study of Kosovo Adeolu Durotoye - International Response to Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria

The following is courtesy of http://www.iusafs.org:

TheInter-UniversitySeminaronArmedForcesandSociety(IUS) is a forum for the interchange and assessment of re-searchandscholarshipinthesocialandbehavioralsciencesdealingwiththemilitaryestablishmentandcivil-militaryre-lations.TheFellowswhomakeuptheIUSincludeacademics,militaryofficers,researchers,andstudentsrepresentingava-rietyofprivateandpublicinstitutionsandvariousacademicdisciplines.

TheIUSisbasedonthepremisethatresearchonmilitaryin-stitutionsisbestconductedacrossuniversity,organizational,disciplinary, theoretical, and national lines. The Fellows oftheIUSdifferwidelyintheirstrategicandpoliticaloutlooks,but they share thecommonview thatobjective researchonmilitaryorganizationsisaworthyendeavor.Theybelievethatsuchresearchmakesaninvaluablecontributiontocitizenun-derstandingofarmedforces.

HeadquarteredatLoyolaUniversityChicago,theIUShasFel-lowsinover35countries.TheIUSpublishestheleadingjour-nal inmilitary-related research,Armed Forces& Society, asubscriptiontowhichisincludedaspartofanIUSFellowship.

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LEAP, Continued from Page 1

reviewedthananypreviousboard.“Thiswasthebestboardtodate,”saidBrigGen(ret.)GuntherMueller,whoservedontheboard.

Sinceitsinceptionin2009,LEAPhasattractedincreasinglevelsofinterest.The458newparticipantsjoinanalreadysizeablegroupoflanguage-enabledAirmen.Theprogram’srankscurrentlyincludeatotalof1,460individuals,whoseskillsspanover80languages.

To become participants in LEAP, Airmen must already havemoderate to high levels of proficiency in a foreign languagespecifiedon theAirForceStrategicLanguageList (SLL). Par-ticipationinLEAPenhancesanddevelopsthe innate languageskillsandinterestsofindividualAirmentotheirfullestpotential.

LEAPalsoofferssignificantbenefitstotheAirForceasawhole.By identifying Airmen with a foreign language proficiency,theAirForcegainsareadypoolof language-capableindividu-alsacrossawidevarietyofcareerfields,affordingagreatdealof flexibility in fulfilling missions requiring language skill.

Maj Heidi Dexter, SAF/IA, reviews applicant information during the scoring portion of the first day of the selection board for the Language Enabled Airmen Program (LEAP), September 17, 2014, begins at the Air Force Culture and Language Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama. (Air Force photo by Brandon M. Bridges)

For more information on LEAP, visit us on the Web athttp://culture.af.mil/leap/

Be sure to join* our Facebook group! Learn about all things LEAP, share your experiences, connect with your fellow group members, ask questions and get answers.

Are you in LEAP? Are you on Facebook?

http://www.facebook.com/groups/AFLEAP/

*Closed group; memberships are subject to verification by LEAP staff.

Airman uses LEAP experience to enhance AFSOUTH missionby Jessica Casserly12thAirForce(AirForcesSouth-ern)PublicAffairs

DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB, Ariz.-TheU.S. Air Force ismade upof a diversely talented groupof people whose personal skillsets often enhance their careers;one Davis-Monthan Airmanis using his language and cul-ture skills to support a uniqueAir Forces Southern mission.

Capt. Kawika Berggren, a C-130navigator by trade and a fluentSpanishspeaker,whoiscurrentlyserving as the executive officerfor the System of CooperationAmongtheAmericanAirForces,was accepted into the LanguageEnabledAirmanProgramin2011.

“The Language Enabled AirmanProgramismeanttofacilitatethedevelopment and sustainment offoreign language skills of thoseservingintheAirForce,”saidMr.Zach Hickman, director of Lan-guageMaintenanceandEnhance-mentattheAirForceCultureandLanguageCenteratMaxwellAFB,Alabama.“Theprogramisvolun-tary forAirmen and participantsmaybeacceptedformultiplelan-guages.Onceacandidateapplies,that application is evaluated bytheLEAP selectionboard,whichtypically meets twice per year.”

After receiving an endorsementfrom his commander and beingaccepted into LEAP, Berggrentraveled to Ecuador for LITE, aprogramdesignedtoimmersepar-ticipantsinthecultureassociatedwith their respective language,aswellasbolstertheirlanguageskills.

“With acceptance into LEAP,which is a life-long program,we’re supposed to attend a lan-guage intensive or language im-mersion event within the first24 months,” Berggren said.

In addition to LITE, LEAP par-ticipants also take part in eMen-tor trainingto furtherstrengthentheir language skills and in-crease their understanding ofthe cultural elements associatedwith their respective languages.

“Like any form of training, par-ticipation in LEAP enhancesand develops the innate lan-guage skills and interests of in-dividual Airmen to their full-est potential,” Hickman said.

While all of the training andimmersion has been person-ally rewarding, Berggren re-alized his LEAP experiencehas the potential to furtherthe Air Force mission as well.

“The entire LEAP program is sothat we have cultural SMEEs indifferent career fields,” Berggrensaid.“I’manavigator,whoiscon-sideredasubjectmatterexpertinLatin culture, not only because Ispeakthelanguage,butbecauseIhavebeendowntherelearningtheculture,goingthroughthehistory,the mythology and the politics.”

A combination of his LEAPtraining and communicationwith his commanders abouthis skill sets and career goalspropelled Berggren to his cur-rent position with SICOFAA.

“SICOFAA originated in 1961,”Berggren said. “The overarch-ingmission [of SICOFAA] todayis to promote and strengthentrust, friendshipandmutualsup-port among its members. Cur-rently we have 20 member na-tions from Canada all the waydown to Argentina. We alsohave five observing nations.”

HavinganunderstandingofLatincultureandbeingabletocommu-nicate fluently in Spanish, allowsBerggren to facilitate SICOFFAexercises and events with thesemember and observing nations,whichpromoteinteroperationforhumanitarian and disaster relief.

“Thispast[airchief ’sconference],wehadamemorandumofunder-standingforbi-lateralhumanitar-iananddisaster relief assistance,”Berggren said. “For example, theearthquake in Haiti, if we hadcommunicationswiththemandifwewouldhavehadallof this al-readysetup,wecouldhavesentamessagetoallofourstationsandletthemknow,‘Theyhadaprettybadearthquake,beonstandbyforassistance.’ We’re trying to guidetowardscuttingallofthatredtape.”

Ultimately, preparing Air-men who can effect changeand strengthen partnershipsthroughprogramssuchasSICO-FAA is what LEAP is all about.

“ByidentifyingAirmenwithprofi-ciency,theAirForcegainsareadypooloflanguage-capableindivid-ualsacrossawidevarietyofcareerfields,affordingagreatdealofflex-ibilityinfulfillingmissionsrequir-inglanguageskill,”Hickmansaid.

Article courtesy 12th Air Force (AFSOUTH) Public Affairs Of-fice. Reprinted with permission.

http://www.12af.acc.af.mil/

Capt. Kawika Berggren (far right) and fellow Language Enabled Airman Pro-gram participants pause for a photo after receiving their certificates of comple-tion for the Language Intensive Training Events program in Ecuador, Sept. 13, 2013. As part of his LEAP training, Berggren traveled to Ecuador to immerse himself in the Latin culture and bolster his language skills. (Courtesy Photo)

Fast Facts:

• “LEAP”stands forLan-guage-Enabled AirmanProgram

• LEAP was initiated inOctober2009

• 1462 total participants,80differentlanguages

• So far in 2015, 460LEAP participants se-lected for Language In-tensive Training Events(LITEs); 510 total par-ticipantsin2014

FormoreinformationonLEAP,visitusontheWeb:http://culture.af.mil/leap

[email protected]

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Colleagues,

If there is one constant tomilitary service, it’s change.Promotions, PCSing, andretirements are all things thatcan change the landscape at adutystation.DuringmytimeasActingDirectoroftheAirForceCultureandLanguageCenter,it’sbeen my pleasure and privilegeto welcome a number of new faces to theAFCLCteam.Occasionally,it’salsomysadduty to announce the departures of valuedmembersoftheteam.

As many of you may know, Lt Col JulieSolberg,whoheadsourLanguageDivision,will soon be retiring. Her departure caps23 years of distinguished service in theAirForce,duringwhichtimesheservedmultipletours overseas and held key positions withseveralorganizations.

Since joining theAFCLC inOctober 2013,shehas served asLanguageDivisionChief,andhasledthedepartmentwithdedicationandprofessionalism. Underher leadership,the division has flourished, adding staff tocopewithasharpincreaseininterestfortheLanguageEnabledAirmanProgram(LEAP).LtColSolberg’sleadershiphasgeneratednotonlyinterestfromprospectivemembersbutalso from mission and language partnersfromacrosstheDepartmentofDefense.

Last year, after the departure of Mr. JayWarwick,forseveralmonthsLtColSolbergassumed the duties and responsibilties ofActing Director of the AFCLC. It’s to hercredit that during that time, she was able

to maintain a stable operatingenvironment, all whilecontinuing her responsibilitiesas language chief. WhenI arrived months later andbecame Acting Director, thetransitionwas smooth, and theenvironment I inherited wasonebasedoncollaborationandteamwork.ItspeaksvolumesofLtCol Solberg’s leadership and

professionalism that she was able to fosterthat kind of atmosphere while managingsuchsignificantresponsibilities.

Back in September, the Language Divisionconducted the 2014 Selection Board forLEAP. As impressive as the experiencewas on its ownmerits, with almost twentyboard members from across the Air Forceparticipating in the application reviewprocess,thisparticulareventheldadditionalsignificance—at the time, it was the largestboard ever convened, both in terms of thenumberofboardmembersandthenumberof records reviewed. One board member,BrigGenGuntherMueller(Ret.), remarkedthatitwas“thebestboardtodate.”

Sayinggoodbye tooneofourown isnevereasy. I know that everyone at the AFCLCwill joinme inwishingLtColSolbergwellassheenterscivilianlife,andbeginsthisnewchapterofherlife.HerservicedoescredittoherselfandtheUnitedStatesAirForce,andithasbeenmypleasureandprivilegetoservewithher.

LtColToddButlerActingDirector,AFCLC

AFCLC Delivers 3,000 Culture Guides to South Koreaby Brandon M. BridgesAirForceCultureandLanguageCenter

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala.– An old resource is about to get newlife—in amajor way. In response to in-terest, the Air Force Culture and Lan-guage Center (AFCLC) recently shippedover 3,000 copies of a recently devel-opedUSForcesPacificCultureGuideonSouthKorea toUS forces assigned there.

The delivery represents one of the AF-CLC’s largest single distributions of theguides to Airmen operating overseas.

“These guides will be very useful to theyoung Soldiers,Airmen, Sailors andMa-rines who get stationed in Korea for thefirst time,” said Lt Col Jackie Chang,Di-rector of Air Force Programs, Joint U.S.Military Affairs Group Korea. “As wellas those service men and women whocome to support the twomajor exercisesthat we hold on peninsula every year.”

As the United States has maintained itspresence around the globe, the need fortools like the field guides has only in-creased.TheAFCLCpresentlyoffersatotalof28fieldguides,eachcoveringadifferentcountry.Anadditionalfiveareplannedforimplementationinthenearfuture:Japan,Thailand,Malaysia, India, andColombia.

“Theseguidesare theperfect travel com-panion,” added Maj Trevor Cook, HQPACAFRegionalAffairsStrategist,Korea.“Youcanputoneinyourpocketorinyourrucksack,andjustlikethatyouhaveaper-fectreferenceguideforyourhostcountry.”

The Expeditionary Field Guides havebecome popular across all the branchesof the US armed forces. Typically 80pages in length, they include key cul-tural information about each country,along with information pertinent to theAir Force’s 12 domains of culture. Pri-mary topics include history, religioustraditions, and survival language skills.

EachfieldguideisaculturalsourcebooktohelpprepareUSservicemembersformis-sionsinculturallycomplexenvironments.

Designed to supplement other existingtraining, the guides offer fundamentalinformation to help servicemembers un-derstand the decisive cultural dimensionof their assigned location. Each guideis organized into two sections: CultureGeneral (CG) and Culture Specific (CS).

CG introduces basic foundationalknowledge to function effectively in aglobal environment, such as a respec-tive continent orCOCOM. CS then ad-dresses the unique cultural features ofa particular country and its culture.

“These culture guides definitely make adifference to Airmen going into a for-eign country,” said Maj Cook. “If youknow nothing about a place like SouthKorea, having one of these in yourpocket gives you a sense of confidence.”

First introduced in 2009, the guidebooksinitiallyfocusedonIraqandAfghanistan.In theyears since, as theUSmissionhasbroadened its scope across the globe, theAFCLChasproducedguidesformanyad-ditionalcountries.Interestin,anddemand

for,thefieldguidesislikelytoremainhighas the US mission continues to evolve.

“Manyofouryoungservicememberslearnin theirfirstoverseasdeploymentwhat itmeanstobeanAmbassadoroftheUnitedStates,”saidLtColChang.“Wedon’twantthemtolearnthehardwaythatamisstepinahostnationcouldleadtoaninterna-tional incident. Thisfieldguideprovidesknowledge to the servicemember to helpthem understand and appreciate the cul-turethey’reoperatingin–thisinturnen-ablesthemtogetoutandenjoytheculture.”

Aspartof the continuing effort to seam-lessly support servicemembers aroundtheworld, theAFCLC is also in thepro-cess of developing a mobile app exclu-sively for the field guides. When com-plete, theappwill simplify theprocessoflocating and downloading specific fieldguidestoservicemembers’mobiledevices.

In the meantime, all 28 field guides areavailable in PDF format from the AF-CLC web site, http://culture.af.mil.

A US Airman stationed in South Korea displays a US Forces Pacific Culture Guide provided by the Air Force Culture and Language Center. (Courtesy Photo)

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by Brandon M. BridgesAirForceCultureandLanguageCenter

MAXWELLAIRFORCEBASE,Ala.-Forthefifthconsecutiveyear,twocoursesof-fered by the Air Force Culture and Lan-guageCenter (AFCLC) have drawn highinterest from across the Air Force. Es-tablished in 2009 and available to theenlisted members participating in theCommunity College of the Air Force(CCAF)program,thesetwocourseshavereceived a growing number of requestsfor enrollment by CCAF participants.

“It’s simultaneously amazing and unfor-tunate that we’ve had to turn away Air-men from every offering of our courses,”saysMr.OlinGoodhue,MissionSupportChief. “In recent years we’ve even hadto close enrollment windows early be-cause of themagnitude of the response.”

Delivered via distance learning, the twocoursesare“IntroductiontoCulture”(ITC)and“IntroductiontoCross-CulturalCom-munication”(CCC),eachofferedtwiceperyear.Bothcoursesprovidethreesemesterhoursofsocialscienceorprogramelective,residentcreditthroughCCAF,andconsistof12lessonspresentedonlinewithpacing

somewhat customizable by the student.

Each course focuses on cross-culturalcompetence (3C) from a different per-spective.ITCisthebroadercoursewhichexplores many aspects of human lifewhich together constitute culture, suchas family relationships, religion and be-lief systems, sports, health practices, his-toryandmyth, andothers,whileCCC ismore narrowly focused to help Airmenbetter understand the process of com-municating across cultural boundaries.

“While both are stand-alone courses,ITC is about establishing a larger frame-work for Airmen to evaluate their cul-tural environment so they can respondappropriately,” explains Mr. Goodhue.“Conversely, CCC delves more deeplyintoanessentialpartof that framework.”

Theprincipalobjectiveofbothcourses isto make expeditionary operations moreeffective by providing Airmen with thetools to successfully navigate unfamil-iar cultures. These courses do not focuson specific knowledge about specificcultures, but rather on the kind of gen-eral knowledge necessary to make anAirman more effective with any foreignculture. AnAirmanwho is cross-cultur-

ally competentunderstandshow to iden-tify and acquire the knowledge neededto interact with both coalition partnersand host nation citizens more fluidly.

“Simple mission accomplishment isn’tenough,” saysMr.Goodhue. “Cross-cul-tural competence is ultimately about ac-complishing themission in a way whichwill promote the greatest cultural accep-tanceand thusbemost likely to endure.”

Whiletheselowerdivisioncollegecourseshaveauniquemilitaryorientation,theyareotherwiselikemostonlinecollegecourses.ThesearenotADLScourses.Eachrequires45 contact hours which include assignedreadings, media presentations, formativeexercises, simulations, and opportunitiestoengageinclassdiscussions.Bothcours-es require participants to complete situ-ationaljudgmenttests,gradedlessonquiz-zes,midtermandfinalexams.Allcontentis delivered for free via Air University’sBlackboardlearningmanagementsystem.

AFCLC’S CCAF Courses Continue to Draw High Interest

FormoreinformationonCCAFcoursesofferedbytheAFCLC,contact334.953.9292ore-mail

[email protected] Col Todd Butler, Acting Director of the Air Force Culture and Language Center (right) stands with the Hon. Ms. Heidi Grant, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs (left), in front of a banner promoting Language, Region, and Culture Education, during a visit on Tuesday, February 3, 2015. During her visit, part of a tour of Maxwell AFB, Ms. Grant received a briefing on the Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP) from the AFCLC Language Division. (AFCLC photo by Brandon M. Bridges)

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During its first Language Day event on October 8, 2014, the Air Force Culture and Language Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, hosted a group of home-school students and their parents, allowing them to interact with instructors from the Defense Language Institute and learn the importance of learning global languages. (AFCLC photo by Brandon M. Bridges)

Lt Gen (ret) Allen Peck, Director of the Air Force Research Institute, gives opening remarks on the first day of the selection board for the Language Enabled Airmen Program (LEAP), September 17, 2014, at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama. The board, scheduled to last three days, included members from a wide variety of Air Force backgrounds. (Air Force photo by Brandon M. Bridges)

Lt Col Todd Butler, Acting Director of the AFCLC (right), presents Mr. Chris Chesser, Language Intensive Training Event (LITE) Program Manager (left) with a Certificate of Recognition on Wednesday, February 4, 2015, for his role in preparing and coordinating a briefing for the Hon. Ms. Heidi Grant’s visit to the AFCLC. (AFCLC photo by Brandon M. Bridges)

CMsgt Timothy Horn, senior enlisted representative for Air University, left, and Mr. Gregory Day, Acting Deputy Director of the Air Force Culture and Language Center, walk towards the AFCLC building Thursday, August 28th, 2014. CMSgt Horn visited the AFCLC to learn more about its ongoing activities and programs. (AFCLC photo by Brandon M. Bridges)

Lt Col Todd Butler, acting director of the Air Force Culture and Language Center (left) stands with Lt Col Julie Grundahl, Chief of the International Airmen Division, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, in front of a sign for the AFCLC. Lt Col Grundahl visited the AFCLC on 3 September 2014. (Air Force photo by Brandon M. Bridges)