Losing Afghanistan for lack of Pashto fluent US soldiers and officials - Part II

I wrote back in April (here):

The United States is at war in Afghanistan. It is not a war we can win without nation building. We cannot nation build without soldiers and civilians fluent in Pashto. In the US, we just are not producing Pashto fluent soldiers or civilians.

Now, AP reporter Jason Straziuso writes (here)

U.S. troops say companies that recruit military translators are sending linguists to southern Afghanistan who are unprepared to serve in combat, even as hundreds more are needed to support the growing number of troops.

Some translators are in their 60s and 70s and in poor physical condition -- and some don't even speak the right language.

"I've met guys off the planes and have immediately sent them back because they weren't in the proper physical shape," said Gunnery Sgt. James Spangler, who is in charge of linguists at Camp Leatherneck, the largest U.S. base in Helmand province.

"They were too old. They couldn't breathe. They complained about heart problems," he said. "We almost made a joke of it. We're almost receiving people on oxygen tanks and colostomy bags; it's almost getting to that point."

And that's not the worst of it.

Troops say low-skilled and disgruntled translators are putting U.S. forces at risk.

"Intelligence can save Marines' lives and give us the advantage on the battlefield," said Cpl. William Woodall, 26, of Dallas, who works closely with translators. "Instead of looking for quality, the companies are just pushing bodies out here, and once they're out the door, it's not their problem anymore."

Spangler, 36, of Lecanto, Fla., emphasized that translators need to be physically fit.

"When we have convoys that are out days or weeks at a time and you have someone that's 60 or 70 years old, I have to put the directive in: I need someone younger, can get out of a vehicle quickly, can run for short periods if needed, anything that's required for combat operations with Marines," Spangler said.

The company that recruits most U.S. citizen translators, Columbus, Ohio-based Mission Essential Personnel, says it's difficult to meet the increased demand for linguists to aid the 15,000 U.S. forces being sent to southern, Pashto-speaking provinces this year as part of President Barack Obama's increased focus on Afghanistan. Only 7,700 Pashto speakers live in the U.S., according to the 2000 census.

Mission Essential's senior vice president, Marc Peltier, told The Associated Press that the linguists the company deploys to Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries meet government standards. The military sets no age or weight requirements, he said.

I have not seen any changes since my April post. Maybe the US military is ramping up its language schools. Maybe not. I’ve not seen a national program to give high school students opportunities to learn Pashto. The Oregon legislature did nothing in their 2009 session. What the AP article describes is desperation. More needs to be done!

Comments

[coach sale]

Do’t delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life and families;let's tell our families and friends how much we love them,It is very important!

[Puma Footwear]

This is a very good,common sense write-up.Really helpful to 1 who is simply discovering the resouces about this element.It will definitely aid teach me.