How much of a role does language training take in real world US Army Special Forces missions?
This depends on the language and the mission.For instance, 7th Special Forces Group that is responsible for Latin America is full of fluent or near-fluent speakers of Spanish. Spanish is not super hard to learn and many operators either speak it well or learn it well enough to communicate. Importantly, there is little actual armed conflict in Latin America, where Americans are involved. Finally, many of US counterparts speak decent English. This is where you can select and train operators to conduct joint missions with their counterparts in their native language.Conversely, Arabic, Pashto or Dari are not easy to learn well. Taking into account that it is useful to communicate to the native population and coalition forces in country in their native language, interpreters are almost always used. Now that Army SF are involved in many direct actions missions, as well as in foreign internal defense, speaking a complex language fluently, sometimes under fire and stress, is very hard. Yes, you get trained in these foreign languages, but with the high op tempo of Special Forces groups, it is hard to achieve proficiency.And yet, all Special Forces candidates going through the SF Qualification Course still take language and culture classes.
What languages are in "high demand" in the U.S. military?
Excellent question! A bit about my background - I'm a former military linguist, went to the Defense Language Institute for Chinese and Spanish, and currently an Army officer. One of the thing that affects this answer is whether you intend to enlist or seek a commission. I can tell you with 99.99% certainty that a minor in a language will not in any way influence your assignments as an officer. We are expected to be generalists and are not the ones that do language related work. The main exception to that is Foreign Area Officers (FAOs), but in that program the military will send you to language school. I have only met one naval officer that attended language school as an officer outside of FAO, and that was for a rather unique opportunity. As for enlisted, if you have an interest in foreign language I would encourage you to become a linguist. They are in high demand in the military, and in some cases (especially the Army) you can frequently get at least the job guaranteed if not a language. And being paid to learn a language in Monterey California is far from a bad gig.
Lone Survivor (2013 movie): What did the old Afghan captive say to the Navy SEALs after they released him?
As harsh as it can be like everyone has stated “In the morning you will wake up separated from all your blood".”If I were to translate this in an English term:why promise something you can’t keep and leave the ones who saved your life and pretend nothing happened. Money was not the issues, The friendship was and realizing, you put your life to save someone’s life. Blood is thicker than water. Goes both ways with good friends and with family.Why Mohammad Gulab, the savior of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, claims ‘Lone Survivor’ got it wrong
Future Navy Linguist / CTI. I'd like help selecting my language at DLI & 1st-hand account of what to expect.
I'm a single female, age 29. DEP recruit, ship in May. I know it's not all up to me, but as a proactive, resourceful gal, I'm doing my homework before I go. A few questions: How much say do I get in choosing my language? What languages are most desirable and needed - both IN the service, AND once I'm out (unless I decide to stay for my 20)? Should I learn some basics in several now (library tapes, etc) to see what languages I like/relate to more? Training is intense, but after that what is a typical day life? Sea or shore duty differences? Paperwork-intensive or not? Challenging consistently or ho-hum? Time off? Travel opps? Earning/advancement potential? A couple details about me for context: I REALLY want to travel. French is my 2nd language. I'm fairly proficient, I've retained much from high school & college. I speak some Spanish, but am far from fluent. I got a 119 on the DLAB (what a hard but great test!) I appreciate any tips, advice, or cautionary tales you can share.
What colleges and universities do the CIA, NSA and FBI like to recruit from? Are there any schools they prefer?
I can’t get into specifics without compromising colleagues and friends.Let’s just say they allow follow predictable patterns, some of which are quite well known historically.All try to chose schools near them: the DC area.They choose schools where some of their own best alumni are from.The CIA tends to have something of a bias toward the Ivy League. I have never visited Yale, but nearly had a business trip near by, and none of my friends ever went there. And I think that’s a bias they have to live down.The Fort has a different set of problems. What I can say has been recently published in a new book titled Code Girls, similar to an awful book on Rocket Girls (the problems with this well meaning book irked my former boss who was one of them). My problem is that I did not finish Code Girls before misplacing it at a friend’s house (up near PDX). But what I can tell you was researched by a historian who researched WW2 women’s colleges and did a presentation on their role in hiring code breakers while the men were sent off to fight. This kind of relationship (gender) is a little spoken part of the IC and used to catch guys behaving badly, too (and not for sex but thinking (which makes me suspicious of imitation games (like Turing))). But the important part is that they are good mathematicians if not necessarily the most ground breaking.The NSA sends recruiters to both mainstream computing conferences as well in particular to recruit women and minorities like the ACM Richard Tapia Conferences. Good swag. You really have to understand what the dynamic is here.Being DOD, for IC agencies try to draw from the Language School for linguists.I think the Bureau tends to draw from a different set of schools with somewhat of a deemphasis on colleges and universities, but I never chatted with them about recruiting. Check their web site. I do know they think they need new talent for new challenges.