September 16, 2009, Arlington, VA -- The National Language Service Corps (NLSC) successfully completed its second international assignment in support of the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) by participating in an exercise with the Royal Thai Army in Thailand. The NLSC sent six Thai-speaking members to work with Pacific Command in order to serve by translating training materials and interpreting during field exercises and briefings.
The Army asked the NLSC to participate in the exercise, recognizing that involving Americans who speak Thai would help the American and Thai military personnel establish trust and build relationships.
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| NLSC Charter Member Joe Tasma translates for American and Thai soldiers in an outside First Aid classroom. |
Members were assigned in teams of two to support each class. “I thought (the experience) was fantastic,” said Aliza Kimhachandra, a Thai-American living in Malaysia and one of the six participating Charter Members. “I have a deeper sense of appreciation of what soldiers do, and appreciation for America for reaching out.” She added that, as both a Thai and an American, she was happy to have chance to offer her skills and “give back” to both countries.
Charter Member Will Vattananun served as the assignment’s Team Lead, and commented about the NLSC in light of the Thai assignment: “Where else would we find an organization that will allow us to fully utilize our language skill to help our nation and other countries understand better and reaching for a common goal. NLSC is the place to volunteer my service. It just feels right.”
The assignment was a great success for NLSC and U.S. Army, Pacific. “This assignment gave the NLSC its first chance to send someone who was outside the United States to an assignment outside the United States,” Said Dr. Robert Slater, Director of the NLSC. “And it went smoothly”. Sergeant Clarence Elicio , who worked with the Charter Members in Thailand, added that the NLSC performed well, saying of one member, “(her) excellent knowledge in the language and culture led to an overall success in the team’s mission.” Of another, Master Sergeant Chanda Gaines said he “ was a great asset. His support was instrumental in being able to convey to the Thai Soldiers the intent of the exercise.”
The NLSC learned valuable lessons about the challenges of conducting overseas assignments. This experience will help the NLSC tremendously as it plans and executes future overseas assignments.
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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