Click to view cutline.

Foreign Area Officer program immerses 19 into Russian culture

By Capt. Joye Davis-Kirchner
26th IG
Ramstein AB, Germany

Nineteen officers from various Air Force specialties improved their Russian language skills during an immersion course through the Foreign Area Officers program this summer in St. Petersburg, Russia. The initiative was established by DOD in 1996 and directed that 10 percent of all Air Force officers have documented foreign language skills and cultural awareness by the year 2005.

This four-week, in-country program focused on speaking the foreign language and served to refresh and improve the language skills of officers with prior language training, but whose proficiency may have declined because of limited use. The FAO proponent office funds the program through a contractor who arranges transportation, visas, lodging, meals, materials and cultural familiarization programs. Since a permissive TDY is used, there is no cost to the unit or the command.

The program included four hours of instruction every day, along with two hours of weekly tutoring, visits to museums and cultural outings, including tours to the Hermitage Museum, Church of the Spilt Blood, The Russian Museum, St. Issac’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Tomb (Moscow), St. Basal’s Church (Moscow), The Russian Cultural Museum (Moscow), Russian Circus (Moscow) and Swan Lake Ballet.

The class also benefited from visits to a local printing firm and a local bank. A representative from the governor’s office in St. Petersburg spoke to the group about the economic and political situation in St. Petersburg.

One of the highlights of the stay was being lodged with a Russian host.

The FAO office also targeted several other languages in addition to Russian for immersion classes this summer: Arabic, Chinese and Farsi.

“We are looking for more people to take advantage of this program,” Capt. Joe Pilkus, SAF/AFAAO, said. “We are seeking to develop a cadre of officers who have the professional and regional expertise needed to fill a broad range of key intermediate and senior officer positions.”

For more information on these programs and the FAO program, call the FAO office at DSN: 425-8349/22/37/21/48. Immersion studies are conducted January through September of each year depending on requirements and funding.