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 3rd
2012, and personally expressed her gratitude on behalf of all the Members who
participated in the assignment.
