Pushing Forward in the Year of the Sheep

The National Language Service Corps (NLSC) experienced a successful year fulfilling its mission of maintaining a readily available corps of language volunteers. This year, the Federal Government’s need for language volunteers remained steady, and the program continued supporting language assignments and engaging its membership of over 5,600 Members who currently represent 320 languages.

After a fast-moving year, NLSC Members have now supported a total of 95 assignments representing 47 languages since 2009. A small percentage of NLSC Members prepared for and participated in NLSC assignments based on the requested languages and backgrounds by government agencies. In the past year, the NLSC has supported a wide range of assignments, including sending a group of six French and Swahili speakers to Fort Riley, Kansas, to provide cultural training to a military brigade, and later deploying a Vietnamese-speaking Member to work alongside a team dedicated to retrieving the remains of fallen American soldiers in Vietnam.

The type of NLSC events have varied greatly over the last year. In September, Members met in Portland, Oregon, for a Member Meet & Greet where one Chinese-speaking Member shared her experience providing interpreting support on a 45-day assignment aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter FORWARD. In June, NLSC Members in Honolulu, Hawaii, had the pleasure of meeting a supporter of the NLSC program and former Hawaii Senator, the Honorable Daniel Akaka, at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. In October, the NLSC launched its New York Regional Chapter—the fourth of the organization’s Regional Chapters dedicated to increasing interactions and readiness among their respective regional memberships. These face-to-face functions provided Members with opportunities to receive updates on the program, interact with NLSC staff, and network with fellow Members.

NLSC’s assignments and Member engagement form the foundation of the program and are counted among the core successes of the past year. The program has several assignments and Member outreach opportunities scheduled for the year ahead, including plans for a Chinese-speaking Member to support a Federal client, and coordinating Members’ participation in regional Community Emergency Training (CERT) courses sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As the NLSC continues to push forward with these goals and more, we want to wish everyone a year of success in the Year of the Sheep. Happy New Year!