WASHINGTON -- U.S. Army Capt. Brendan Tarpui was at a checkpoint in Afghanistan when one of the Afghan soldiers he was working with saw what he suspected was an improvised explosive devise, a homemade bomb used to blow up patrols and civilians.The soldiers quickly closed off the area and directed traffic away when a van began speeding toward them. They feared the driver could be a decoy or a suicide bomber.In Dari, one of the main languages spoken in Afghanistan, Tarpui ordered one of the Afghan officers to show his gun to deter the driver and then to shoot his rifle into the ground as a warning. The driver hit the brakes, and the soldiers found only a frightened family in the van.Tarpui said speaking a few words of Dari and knowing certain commands allowed him to communicate with the Afghan soldiers and avoid a potentially catastrophic situation."This illustrates how much and how important language is to U.S. and Afghan troops, and Iraqi troops for that matter," Tarpui said. "It helped us avoid a potentially terrible situation. The ability to understand and communicate verbally is a huge, huge thing."Of the approximately 1.4 million active service members, more than 217,000 of them speak a foreign language. Many in Congress as well as military experts want to increase this number to improve communication and relationships abroad. Of the languages spoken, 72 percent are of strategic interest to the military, a Defense Department spokeswoman said.Tarpui was deployed in Afghanistan as an adviser until January 2008 and saw combat in Iraq in 2004. Although interacting with Iraqis and Afghans is a significant part of the job for many soldiers, a few Dari commands are all he knows of foreign language.Before being deployed, Tarpui was trained by a native Arabic speaker in key phrases and cultural aspects. For example, he learned to put his hand over his heart when speaking to people in Iraq to show that he was sincere.Most of the time, Tarpui used an interpreter, which is how about 90 percent of troops on the ground communicate, he said.The Army recruits native speakers who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents to train as translators through the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.Tarpui said that in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers generally spend more time interacting with natives and speaking to them than they do in dangerous combat situations.Most Iraqis speak Arabic. In Afghanistan, it's mostly Dari and Pashto. These are considered to be some of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn.The Defense Language Institute, a part of the Defense Department, is responsible for providing foreign language training to all of the services, said Steve Collins, head of field support for the institute.Soldiers coming out of basic training can enroll in courses if they want to become linguists. After passing a test, they are assigned to a foreign language based on the military's needs and take intensive courses that last up to 18 months, said Natela Cutter, the institute's chief of strategic communication.The center teaches 24 languages and, on average, has 3,500 students. It has 1,700 instructors, 98 percent of whom are native speakers of the language they teach.Since 9/11, the institute has also given more language help to troops, including language survival kits. The kits include a pocket-sized book and a CD of basic phrases. Soldiers looking for quick access to information before they are deployed can consult a Web site of basic information.Units can also ask for cultural and language support training, which is taught by native speakers. The number of participating units is increasing every year as communication becomes more critical, Collins said."They're going to appreciate the fact that you know a few words," Collins said, of the people soldiers meet overseas. "It helps build bridges."(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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