Language List

The Navy recently issued its "Strategic Language List," according to a service memo. The list's intent "is to inform the Navy total force of [the] Navy's foreign language requirements. The list is used to shape foreign language capability and capacity in the force, prioritize development of related training, and facilitate administration of [the] Navy's Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) Program," the missive states.

The memo, obtained by the publicintelligence.net website, divides the Navy's language requirements into three categories: immediate, emerging and enduring languages. The top two:

(FOUO) IMMEDIATE LANGUAGES

Arabic – Iraqi (QAI)
Arabic – Yemeni (AU/QAY)
Baluchi (BT/BAL)
Pashto-Afghan (Pushtu) (PV/PBT)
Persian-Afghan (Dari) (PG/PRS)
Persian-Iranian (Farsi) (PF/PES)
Somali (SM/SOM)
Swahili (SW/SWA)
Urdu (UR/URD)

(FOUO) EMERGING LANGUAGES

Amharic (AC/AMH)
Arabic – Sudanese (AV/APD)
Armenian (AR/HYE)
Azerbaijani (AX/AZE)
Bambara (BA/BAM)
Bengali (BN/BEN)
Divehi (DV/DIV)
Fulani (FV/FUL)
Gujarati (GW/GUJ)
Hindi (HJ/HIN)
Kazakh (KE/KAZ)
Krio (KW/KRI)
Lingala (LJ/LIN)
Madurese (MD/MAD)
Marathi (MR/MAR)
Nepalese (NE/NEP)
Punjabi (PJ/PAN)
Sindhi (SD/SND)
Singhalese (SJ/SIN)
Tadjik (TB/TGK)
Tamazight (TZM)
Tamil (TC/TAM)
Telugu (TE/TEL)
Tigrinya (TL/TIR)
Uighur (UJ/UIG)
Ukrainian (UK/UKR)
Uzbek (UX/UZB)
Wolof (WQ/WOL)

Congress in the past has tried to tinker with how the Pentagon conducts its language training programs. In 2009, House authorizers included language in the fiscal year 2010 defense bill that directed the Defense Department to carry out a pilot program to establish and evaluate language training centers for the military, including members of the reserve component and the Reserve officers' training corps and civilian employees, Inside the Pentagon reported in September of that year:

The legislation would require the establishment of at least three language training centers at accredited universities, senior military colleges or other similar institutions of higher education, not later than October 1, 2010. The bill calls on Defense Secretary Robert Gates to submit a report to the congressional defense committees not later than December 31, 2015, evaluating the pilot program. The Senate has no corresponding provision.

The Pentagon, though, resisted that effort, arguing the effort would siphon money from higher-priority defense language programs. As ITP reported at the time:

In a Sept. 4 appeal to Congress, the department opposes the House provision because it would require "the expenditure of already limited resources," including funding and personnel for oversight and management, "to the detriment of higher priority defense language programs."

The provision does not allocate any funding to establish the pilot program and language training center, the appeal complains. This lack of additional resourcing would "negatively impact" existing defense language program resources, DOD argues. It would be similar to the pilot program for foreign language proficiency training for reserve members mandated by the FY-09 National Defense Authorization Act that DOD funded through other programs, adds the Pentagon.

"Additionally, program management and oversight are also major considerations, because experiences in our Language Flagship and Grant programs demonstrate that the department would have to outsource and/or create new positions to provide the required management and oversight of this new pilot program," argues the appeal.