[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 128 (Tuesday, November 14, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2016-E2017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN HONOR OF THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 2006

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today to commemorate the 
Defense Language Institute's 65th anniversary, and to honor its 
generations of distinguished faculty and students, without whom the 
freedom and security we enjoy would not be possible.
  On November 1, 1941 the DLI (then, nameless and clandestine) 
commenced its first class in San Francisco, not in a classroom or, much 
less, at a university. Rather, the crown-jewel of American language 
instruction and our greatest asset to national security was born in an 
abandoned airplane hangar.
  Sixty students, most of whom were second-generation Japanese-
Americans, along with four instructors, undertook an unprecedented 
exercise: to formally train in the language and customs of our enemies 
for the purposes of translation and intelligence gathering. Their 
resulting successes in the Pacific theater paved the way for the modern 
DLI--an academically accredited foreign language training institution--
the largest in the world--which enjoys the prestige and renown of a 
world-class university.
  Prominent DLI alumni include Air Force Colonel William Fife, a 
graduate of the Institute's Russian basic course who pioneered airborne 
reconnaissance during the Cold War. Glenn Nordin, also a graduate of 
the Russian basic course as well as the Vietnamese advisor course, 
served as a translator for the

[[Page E2017]]

Washington-Moscow hotline, as a deputy chief at the National Security 
Agency and as Executive Secretary of the Director of Central 
Intelligence Language Committee. And, more recently, Air Force 
Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, who served as personal interpreter 
and advisor to General Norman Schwarzkopf during Operation Desert 
Storm.
  The DLI's Foreign Language Center is well situated at the Presidio of 
Monterey Presidio. Its proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area and the 
Central Coast make the Institute a natural destination for native-
speaking language instructors of the highest caliber. In turn, DLI has 
greatly enriched our community by creating a locus of culture and 
learning.
  The foreign language training the Defense Language Institute has 
imparted to ``the best and brightest'' of our U.S. Armed Forces has 
proven to be one of our Nation's best national security weapons. On 
March 5, 2005, General John P. Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central 
Command (CENTCOM), said, ``This ability to cross the cultural divide is 
not an Army issue. It is a national issue. We have to be able to deal 
with the people in the rest of the world as the globe shrinks in terms 
of communication and problem solving and sharing. So this notion of . . 
. training and educating people here in the U.S., of having the 
institutions that do it . . . is just so essential.''
  ``What will win the global war on terrorism will be people that can 
cross the cultural divide, reach out to those who want our help, and 
figure out how to make it happen so [those people] can help themselves. 
That is how we will win this thing,'' continued Gen. Abizaid. ``So we 
ignore the DLIs and other institutions of military education at our own 
peril. I very much ask [this] committee to continue to keep those 
places functioning, because they are national treasures.''
  General Abizaid's sentiments resonate to the very foundations of the 
Institute and fill its halls with purpose and resolve. Cross cultural 
understanding coupled with the ability to communicate with our friends 
and enemies in their own languages will promote U.S. national security, 
economic and foreign policy interests, making the U.S. the leader of 
the global community.
  I am very pleased to join the Secretary of the Army, Francis H. 
Harvey, the Commandant of DLI, Colonel Tucker B. Mansager, and other 
distinguished guests to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Defense 
Language Institute. Monterey is proud of its rich association with DLI 
and we all look forward to its future success and continued growth.

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