On January 17, 2011, United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) kicked off a 10-week military course for experienced Non-commissioned Officers (NCOs) in Grafenwoehr, Germany. The course is designed to equip NCOs with basic skills to operate on a military staff and to forge long-lasting partnerships among the participating countries. The academic portion is executed by a training team from The Defense Department’s Joint Analysis Center, based at RAF Molesworth in the UK.
US Marine Corps Forces Africa (MARFORAF) provides AFRICOM with a Marine Officer and Staff NCO to serve as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) and Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge (SNCOIC), respectively.
The students participating are from Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and the United States. Since many of the students are native-Arabic speakers, the course is being presented in both French and Arabic.
An Arabic speaking member of the NLSC is currently in Grafenwoehr providing linguistic support to MARFORAF.
Many of the students preferred to be taught in Arabic because that is what their junior NCOs will understand. Furthermore, some students remarked that providing Arabic instruction shows AFRICOM's respect to their countries but assured MARFORAF that they want to build partnerships with the French speaking students as well.
MARFORAF requested NLSC support in order to provide interpretation among the Arabic speaking students and the Course Staff to insure proper care of student health and welfare issues. In fact, MARFORAF has been very thankful our member has been on site, as he has already assisted MARFORAF with resolving numerous issues ranging from military specific needs to extensive medical complications. He has a wide range of unique skills including a medical background that has been very helpful to the OIC and SNCOIC of the course. "Having [him] on the team has been almost critical to the success of the program."
Our member has been interpreting for the OIC and SNCOIC, translating course material, and even assisting in the lectures. The students are involved in classroom training, physical training, as well as cultural trips in nearby German cities.
His assignment will last until the last student departs to his home country, but his contributions will be forever realized on the African continent through increased stability, economic growth, and greater regional security.
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