Airmen selected for language program

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  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Team Eglin selectees, Lt. Col. Jeremy Bragdon, Capts. Allison Derr and Kuan Chen are among more than 200 Airmen selected to take part in the career-long language and culture learning program. They will receive in-depth language training, ensuring the Air Force has a "bench" of language and culturally competent Airmen from across Air Force specialties, officials said.

Applicants for the Air Force Culture and Language Center Language Enabled Airman Program must exhibit some level of capability in a foreign language to enter into the program, and that capability is sustained and enhanced through online classes and language immersions. The new participants are versed in 42 different languages, and come from a diverse cross-selection of Air Force specialties, including medical, acquisition, communications, support, special operations and aviation career fields.

Bragdon, a staff pathologist assigned to the 96th Medical Support Squadron, has spoken Japanese for the last 14 years. Bragdon learned about LEAP after a quick Google search and liked what the program had to offer.

"LEAP is all about building influential global relationships by understanding our partners better and you can't accomplish that without learning your partner's language and culture," he said.

Of the more than 700 Airmen who applied for the LEAP fall 2013 selection board, 329 active duty officers and 88 cadets from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and the Air Force Academy met the completion standard and were evaluated.

"We're excited to have these new participants join the ranks of the more than 1,300 Airmen currently participating in LEAP," said Capt. Breezy Long, the LEAP operations manager. "Through LEAP, we're providing the cross-culturally competent, language-enabled Airmen that commanders need to accomplish their missions. We're not taking people out of their 'day jobs' for LEAP, but we're making sure these Airmen can accomplish their 'day jobs' in another language and another culture - something our service members are called to do more and more in today's complex global environment."

Chen currently works at the Air Force Test and Evaluation Center, but is eager to use LEAP to brush up on his first language, Chinese Mandarin, so he can put it to use in his Air Force career.

"I am excited about the possibility to be coded with a special experience identifier in the LEAP program," said Chen. "Being tagged with SEI means I could be eligible for a special duty with unique/unusual language needs." 

Forty-three different languages were represented in the eligible pool. The most-prevalent language was Spanish, with 121 applicants listing it as their primary foreign language. However, many other less-commonly seen languages were represented, including Amharic, Burmese, Hindi and Swedish.

Board participants included Cara Aghajanian, the director of the Air Force Language, Region and Culture Program Office, as well as representatives from the medical, intelligence and special operations communities.

"The board members' job was to find the most qualified volunteers who were both willing and able to use their language abilities to meet Air Force requirements," said Zachary Hickman, the AFCLC's deputy language division chief. "The experts on the selection board are representative of the communities who need these language enabled Airmen. They're uniquely qualified to select those Airmen for the program."

Twelve experts from a variety of career fields evaluated the applicant packages on the demonstrated language ability and the applicants' potential to be successful LEAP participants. Language ability was demonstrated through applicant scores on Defense Language Proficiency Tests, as well as by overall academic performance with an emphasis on foreign language course performance. Other important factors were the applicants' performance and training reports and commander's endorsement letter.

The AFCLC hosts two LEAP selection boards each year; one board is for officers and officer candidates, and one board is for enlisted applicants. The next board will focus on enlisted candidates and is planned for spring 2014. Details will be posted on the Air Force Portal. For more information, contact the LEAP administrators at afclc.language@us.af.mil.