Language program application deadline nears

Daniel P. Elkins
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs Office

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – Air Force officials are accepting application packages through Sept. 13 for officers interested participating in the Language Enabled Airman Program, or LEAP, offering an opportunity to develop a foreign language skill throughout their careers.

Launched earlier this year by Air Force Culture and Language Center, LEAP is the first career-long program designed to offer language-sustainment training for Airmen in diverse career fields. A September selection board will consider applications by active-duty officers as well as U.S. Air Force Academy and ROTC cadets.

Lt. Col. Brian Smith, the deputy director of the Air Force Culture and Language Center Language Department at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., said participation in LEAP offers a wide array of opportunities to develop and use one’s foreign language ability while providing the Air Force a greatly expanded core competency from which to draw individuals to meet critical mission needs.

Airmen are selected based upon their demonstrated potential to achieve higher levels of foreign language proficiency as measured by their past performance in language courses, their Defense Language Proficiency Test or Oral Proficiency Interview, Defense Language Aptitude Battery scores, and their previous foreign language exposure.

“The only way we have of identifying eligible active-duty members is if they’ve already taken the DLAB, OPI or DLPT, which are identified in the Military Personnel Data System,” he said. “However, we’re positive there are many more Airmen across the force that have foreign language proficiency and may not have learned of this new program yet could greatly benefit from participation.”

To reach those potential participants, Colonel Smith is asking junior officers to spread the word through company grade officer councils and other professional networking organizations.

More than 190 officers have already been jumped at that opportunity. Of those, 77 are already in language intensive training events in such locations as China, Germany, Japan, Ukraine, Morocco, Brazil, Korea, France and Costa Rica. The remaining individuals are largely recently commissioned officers whose initial skills training or flight screening presented a scheduling conflict with language training events as well as some students who will be commissioned in the coming months.

The program also includes five health professions members who are involved in the International Health Services program and already possess advanced language proficiency. Non-line medical corps officers meet the same boarding process but are further screened by Medical Service professionals on the board.

Applications packages received thus far are predominantly from active-duty officers, however, Colonel Smith anticipates an influx of applications from U.S. Air Force Academy and ROTC students who returned to school this month. Future boards will include members of the total force, “though we are not quite there yet,” added Colonel Smith.

Colonel Smith said some of the common questions applicants are asking concern the impact of LEAP on their Air Force specialties and retainability requirements. He clarified that the program does not require participants to change their career specialty.

“Airmen in LEAP will still be required to maintain their mission-ready capability in their respective specialties,” he said. “The added benefit comes in the form of priority consideration for language coded billets and opportunities such as foreign PME and potential opportunities to work closely with partner nation personnel in an official capacity.”

He further explained that the program targets officers with some capability early in their careers to ensure participants have sufficient time to develop language proficiency.

“It takes up to a year to get someone from 0/0 to 2/2 in language proficiency in a full time residency program. Unfortunately, there are very few opportunities to schedule individuals for training of this length if it is not contingent upon immediate assignment to a language coded billet thereafter. And continued training throughout the career is necessary to maintain even that basic level of proficiency or to enhance it to working levels of proficiency (3/3),” Colonel Smith said. “Also, demands such as PME, advanced degrees and command opportunities for many officers later in their careers limit the time they have available to devote to language training. Realistically, we have to focus on harvesting the talent that we have, rather than farming new talent once an individual has already begun their Air Force career.”

Applicants are considered by a board that includes representatives from the Air Force ROTC, U.S. Air Force Academy, Air Force Personnel Center, Air Force Language and Culture Program office, Air Force International Affairs and AFCLC. Board results will be announced in September. Applications submitted after the Sept. 13 cutoff will be considered by the following board in the spring.

For more information on language qualifications and application procedures, visit www.culture.af.edu. Interested Airmen may submit completed applications at any time.