She was part of one of the first missions after the 9/11 terror attacks, as well as operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. One 97th linguist has deployed in support of contingency operations more than 20 times. "Plus that situation can be more dangerous because many translators have turned on friendly forces, whereas, if we have our own translators, not only will we show respect (for) their language, customs and courtesies, we will also keep our people safer and improve relations," she added. "If an American walks in to a village in Afghanistan with some random local translating for him or her, it looks like we as a country didn't take the effort to learn their language or it may send the message that we don't respect them that much," Sergeant Walker said. She speaks Mandarin Chinese and said that linguists not only ensure the protection of their fellow servicemembers, but they can also help improve relations between nations.
Sergeant Walker is an Air Force reservist who's been serving with the 97th IS for almost three years. "We have the ability to talk to people on the ground who don't have the ability to talk to other aircraft, so if there's forces on the ground they can radio us and provide us with information that we then relay to the appropriate people so our forces are protected." "We collect intelligence and disseminate that intelligence to the proper authorities," Sergeant Walker said. Walker, an airborne cryptologic linguist with the 97th IS. The expertise linguists provide, especially to servicemembers engaged in contingency operations, can have a significant impact, said Staff Sgt.
Whether they're flying thousands of feet above Earth or with their feet firmly on the ground, the linguists of the 97th Intelligence Squadron are focused on protecting their fellow warriors.Ī linguist is defined as someone who is skilled in several languages and the linguists of the 97th IS speak multiple languages including Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Dari, Korean and Pashtu.
0 kommentar(er)
