Designation as a standby can still lead to participation in an assignment

Maryland native Liliya Robinson never imagined that her standby status for a three week assignment in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s would materialize. Liliya is one of approximately 415 talented Russian speakers in the National Language Service Corps (NLSC) pool. Her status changed from a standby to a primary candidate when a primary Member dropped out at the last minute. Currently, a self-employed translator and interpreter, Liliya states that the NLSC assignment was different from other language efforts that she has supported, “Because we are volunteers supporting an assignment and have a spirit of volunteerism, it creates a different atmosphere.” Liliya was one of eight Russian Members providing language support to the U.S. Central Command during their June Regional Cooperation exercise.

Liliya, a NLSC Charter Member since 2009, remarked the Bishkek assignment reaffirmed her understanding of the NLSC and its mission of providing readily available language support to any federal government agency in need. A sizeable subset of the 3,500 NLSC Members—like Liliya—are temporary federal employees. The volunteer Members in this on-call status are available to assist federal agencies in fulfilling their language needs at a moment’s notice. Their support ranges from surge requirements for federal agencies’ day-to-day operations to boots on the ground during national crises. According to Liliya, the NLSC staff provided outstanding support day and night, making it possible for the NLSC Members to concentrate on their translation duties. Liliya visited the NLSC office during the weekly staff meeting on July 3^rd 2012, and personally expressed her gratitude on behalf of all the Members who participated in the assignment.