Military pushes language training

FORT BRAGG -- Gunfire on a distant range and the roar of cargo planes overhead are the sounds usually associated with paratroopers in training. Now add to those the halting conversation between American soldiers practicing Dari.

"Nice to meet you," reads the English translation of a phrase written in the Perso-Arabic script taped to a wall.

"What is your name?"

"I am from America."

Since January, 64 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team have spent their days learning to read, write and speak basic Dari, the most common language among the people of Afghanistan, and delving into the culture and history of the country.

The Army has taught the same 16-week course at Fort Drum in New York, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Marine Corps base Camp Lejeune will graduate its first class this summer from a 52-week course in Dari, Pashtu and Urdu, two other languages of the region.

The proliferation of the language courses suggests the military expects to be in Afghanistan for a long while to come, and reflects the current policy of cultivating relationships among the Afghan people and incorporating them in the fight against the Taliban.

The Obama administration has said it plans to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan this summer, but has not set a timeline for a complete withdrawal.

The 4th BCT returned in September from a 12-month deployment to the country. Its soldiers say they were frequently limited by their inability to communicate with the soldiers and security forces they were trying to train, and the villagers from whom they were seeking information.

Sgt. Bradley Oliff was one of those who jumped at the chance to take the first course offered at Fort Bragg by the Defense Language Institute of Monterey, Calif.

Oliff, a medic, said that during his time in Afghanistan he relied on "a lot of hand gestures, a lot of guessing and a lot of calling for the interpreter and hoping he's around."

Intensive classes

But there were never enough interpreters, Oliff and other soldiers say, and even when one was available, it often seemed as though the interpreter was afraid to communicate exactly what was said by one party or the other, or didn't completely understand it.

Most of the patients he treated in the country were Afghan nationals, Oliff said, and he often felt at a loss.

"Unless you could see the injury, sometimes there just wasn't anything you could do without an interpreter," he said. "Now, I could ask them, 'Do you need help?' I could actually have a conversation."

The Army ordered up the training last year to help prepare troops for future deployments, said Chely McAnich, language program manager for the 18th Airborne Corps, which includes the 82nd Airborne Division and is headquartered at Bragg. Students are in class from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and are relieved of most other duties except those required to keep their jump certification.

Fifteen instructors, all native Dari speakers, work with groups of six to 10 students across 10 small classrooms in a former barracks building on post. Most mornings, the instructors lecture on grammar, usage or culture. Afternoons, students are given scenarios in which they must try to find their way with the language.

In one classroom last week, two students were playing the roles of soldiers: one American, one Afghan. While looking for a pair of suspects, they had come upon a local woman - Zohal Hakeem, their instructor - and the U.S. soldier was telling the Afghan what to say to the woman, who answered in Dari.

"Ask her if she knows the men," he said, as his classmate searched his memory for the words and tried to put them in order. Only one of them, she answered.

"Ask her if she knows where he lives," the soldier said. Yes, she told them. In another village.

"Ask her where the village is," he said.

With the class due to wrap up in May, some students have come farther in mastering the rolling "r," and the "kuh" sound that begins at the back of the tongue. But generally, said Hamed Miran, who was coaching students through a conversation in which they introduced themselves to one another, "They're doing an awesome job."

Mastering the tool

Staff Sgt. Stephen Rock, an infantry squad leader who has deployed once to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan, said the cultural instruction combined with the language training will be a powerful tool when the unit goes back. While they won't be fluent speakers, they will be regarded less as "arrogant Americans," Rock said, for having gone to the trouble to learn basic phrases. Everything will be easier, he said, from deciphering road signs to gaining the trust of people.

Rock said his perception of Afghan people has changed completely since he started the class.

He knows now that tribal leaders like to make friendly conversation before they get to the point of a business discussion; that when someone asks him how much money he earns, it's not prying, but curiosity; and that no matter the temperature outside, if the host offers a cup of tea, the polite response is to accept it.

Rock's hopes for the future of the U.S. military's efforts in Afghanistan have changed as well, he said. By working with locals in their own language, troops will be able to make a difference in the country, he now believes.

"Without it," he said, "we would just be running in circles."