[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 85 (Friday, June 14, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E878-E879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 13, 2013

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1960) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2014 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     such fiscal year, and for other purposes:

  Mr. FARR. Madam Chair, I rise today to express my appreciation for 
the House Armed Services Committee's acceptance of my amendment on the 
importance of foreign language and cultural education in the military. 
While the concept of military-to-military engagement is not new, it has 
an increasing level of importance in our contemporary operating 
environment. While most military training focuses on servicemembers 
being able to engage with the enemy, it is equally important to educate 
servicemembers on cultures and foreign language so that when we partner 
with foreign militaries and engage in capacity building, we can speak 
their language and understand their culture.
  The Chief of Staff of the Army, General Odierno, and the Supreme 
Allied Commander Europe, Admiral Stavridis, have argued that the future 
of our defense strategy requires strong relationships with capable 
partners. Unfortunately, there is a language and cultural capability 
gap in the Department of Defense, an organization that operates 
globally to accomplish its mission yet has less than 10% whom speak a 
second language. Effective partner capacity building requires the kind 
of relationships that cannot be built through using an interpreter 
alone.
  Our military's ability to understand cultures and languages in Iraq 
and Afghanistan has taken a long and costly road. That road's most 
valuable lesson is that our military personnel need the capacity to 
understand foreign cultures and languages before they are deployed. The 
ability of our junior and senior military leaders to build partnerships 
and partner capacity requires training in culture and languages not 
only in times of conflict but also in times of peace.
  Two world class military installations in my district provide this 
critically needed education to all the Services. The Defense Language 
Institute Foreign Language Center and the Naval Postgraduate School 
educate military personnel in the languages and cultures of our 
partners. Investment in language and culture enhances readiness for 
military intelligence, Special Forces, and general-purpose forces at a 
low cost. This capability enables servicemembers to connect with our

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partnering countries at the unit level where the mission is executed.
  America's strategic challenges, including a pivot to the Pacific 
region that has more than 70 countries and more than 100 regional and 
national languages, will generate additional requirements for language 
and put additional strain on the current capacity for skilled foreign 
language analysts, Foreign Area Officers, military intelligence 
personnel, and attaches. We must meet the demand and respond 
proactively.
  Madam Chair, again, I am appreciative of the committee's support of 
foreign language capability and cultural understanding in the military 
and look forward to working with them in the future to ensure our 
military is resourced to meet the strategic demands of the future.

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