The National Language Service Corps (NLSC) has announced that three of its Charter Members will deploy to Indonesia in order to facilitate a community development project being undertaken by the Department of Defense’s U.S. Pacific Command. Garuda Shield 09, as the mission is known, plans to utilize the NLSC Members’ language skills to bridge a communications gap between Pacific Command and the local community. The Members will serve in a humanitarian capacity, using their language skills to interface with the local community. The first NLSC Charter Member departs for Indonesia on June 5.

The Army anticipates that involving American citizens who can speak Indonesian will enable them to establish trust and facilitate relationship building. For the NLSC, this trust is the cornerstone of relationships, and they believe it will allow Pacific Command to make inroads at the grassroots level. This approach takes into account the human factor in aid relief, and will set a precedent that encourages long-lasting relationships in the region. In a time of great need throughout the developing world, it is exciting that an organization has undertaken the mission of utilizing American citizens’ language skills “for the good of all.”

This project follows on the heels of the NLSC’s first project with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA.

About the National Language Service Corps:

The NLSC is a group of multilingual individuals that make themselves available to serve their country in the event of a sudden need for their language skills. They are united by the fundamental belief that language has a tremendous impact on who we are; who we can be; and what we can do together. In addition to making a significant and worthwhile contribution to the nation and its language communities, Members become part of a unique language network of service-minded individuals. All Members currently must be U.S. Citizens who are at least 18 years or older, possess language expertise and have a genuine desire to help their fellow language communities. Additional information about the National Language Service Corps is available at nlscorps.org.

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