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Army Trains US Soldiers to Speak Arabic

From: Northwest News Network (N3)
Length: 00:02:58

The Army is starting to rely less on Iraqi-born translators to manage war relations. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

The next Army Stryker brigade to deploy from Fort Lewis, [Washington] will have more ordinary soldiers who can speak and read Arabic. Until now, brigades sent to the war zone from the Northwest have largely relied on Iraqi-born translators. Their dependability has varied. Correspondent Tom Banse observed infantrymen try out their new language training in a simulated Iraqi village at Fort Lewis.

Broadcast History

Aired on members of the Northwest News Network, including KUOW, KPLU, OPB, NWPR, KLCC, JPR, KPBX, BSR and KMUN

Transcript

Exams are stressful, regardless. Now imagine being graded while gunfire crackles outside... your boss is counting on you to look good as well... and the questions are in a language few Americans can master.

Sound: [question in Arabic ?How would you help us with this?...?]

Native speakers portraying an Iraqi mayor, police chief and tribal elder are testing infantryman Efraim Kelmansky. He?s had 10 months of intensive Arabic lessons at Fort Lewis. His platoon is on a simulated mission to find al-Qaida infiltrators in a mock village. But the town leaders have their own agenda.

Sound: [conversation about police station lacking cars, people, no weapons]

Specialist Kelmansky is one of more than a hundred soldiers from his brigade to be reassigned from regular training to learn Arabic. All volunteered. It means this brigade will have the highest number of Arabic speakers...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

Fort Lewis brigades teach more ordinary soldiers Arabic
0728TB_Arabic.wav 2:58 feature 7/28/08 Tom Banse/CD

Lead:
The next Army Stryker brigade to deploy from Fort Lewis, [Washington] will have more ordinary soldiers who can speak and read Arabic. Until now, brigades sent to the war zone from the Northwest have largely relied on Iraqi-born translators. Their dependability has varied. Correspondent Tom Banse observed infantrymen try out their new language training in a simulated Iraqi village at Fort Lewis. (2:58... soq)