316th Training Squadron wins award two years in a row
Posted 2/7/2011
Email story
Print story
by Kathryn Gustafson
Air Force Culture, Region and Language Foreign Program Office
2/7/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Officials recently announced the 316th Training Squadron at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, earned the Command Language Program of the Year award for the second consecutive year.
The squadron will go on to represent the Air Force at the Department of Defense level.
The 316th TS is responsible for monitoring and training more than 2,000 cryptologic language analysts annually in a joint service environment, officials said.
With approximately 140 on-site instructors, an abundance of training and deployment resources, language opportunities and incentives, the squadron has established a well-managed institution with the capability to produce language-proficient Airmen ready to achieve mission success, said Lt. Col. Erick Lawson, the 316th TS commander.
In 2010, the 316th Training Squadron received approval for a language training detachment, staffed by instructors from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. The LTD allows language professionals the opportunity to undergo language training in Korean, Chinese, Arabic and the Iraqi dialect.
"We fully realize that today, perhaps more than ever before, highly proficient cryptologic language analysts are a critical factor in attaining information superiority," Colonel Lawson said. "The rapidly changing world situation, including overseas contingency operations, makes it imperative that our language analysts be ready to serve anywhere, anytime and in whatever capacity needed."
Colonel Lawson added that the 316th TS is dedicated to providing the necessary training to produce analysts willing and able to meet operational demands around the globe.
"It is essential we continue to hone our language analysts' skills in order to meet the challenges and demands of our decision makers to maintain dominance in the ever-changing info-sphere in which we operate," Colonel Lawson said.
Through its training partnerships with similar organizations and its capability to meet deployment needs, the 316th TS is committed to its mission to produce the best trained cryptologic intelligence and electronic maintenance specialists in the Department of Defense, he said.
"This squadron's noteworthy language program accomplishments over the past year have garnered the distinction as the best of the best and are an example for other squadrons to benchmark," said Barbara Barger, the Air Force senior language authority. |
|
|
