Hello everyone, I was wondering if it is possible to pick a specific foreign language to study at USAFA. I have heard from former and current intel officers that Russian and Chinese are always in demand in the Air Force and that knowing a strategic language could help me get an intel slot in the future. Are the foreign languages assigned to cadets randomly, assigned based on DLAB scores, or will we be allowed to pick one? Although I’m already fluent in one of the strategic lanugages, I think it would be nice to learn another language, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the chance to take Russian (If I get a bad DLAB score) because I didn’t do so well learning Spanish in high school. Thank you in advance to everyone who replies to my question!
I'm former USAFA DFPS (Poli Sci) faculty and DFPS AIC (and a current college president--doesn't mean much, but appropriately returns to my discussion later, simply a cranium's-up), and former intel officer (SQ/DO, Dir. of Intel, Joint Staff, Congressional Staff, etc.). So, here is my 15-cents worth, but feel free to jettison this if it doesn't resonate with your concerns:
A strategic foreign language is a fantastic skill to have that, as an intel officer, you would almost surely never directly use. In intel, we have enlisted linguists who have great facility with their assigned language who do the tough work of translating what they hear and read. In terms of being an intel
officer, having a modicum of working knowledge of a strategic language (Russian, Chinese...even Spanish, 10 years ago and further in the past, Arabic) will afford you cultural
context. It is this context that will help you to understand what is important AND valued in a particular society/culture's politics, economy, arts, history, fears, and hopes. It gives you the ability to "read between the lines" of intel assessments, diplomatic cables, and official policy statements when evaluating them to determine a particular adversary or ally's stance, posture, and/or intended message. That said, will your Vectoring Team at AFPC notice if you have successfully completed courses in Mandarin on your transcript? Yes. Will it have an outsized influence on the career field you receive? Depends upon your major and--wait for it, I know it is everyone's favorite--needs of the Air Force. How does that play out in practical reality? If you are an engineering major or a chemistry, physics, OR, or mathematics major, do not expect them to vector you into intel unless you have a notably high GPA. In all likelihood you will become an engineer or scientist (assuming that you don't elect to attend UPT). If you do have a high GPA, then you stand a better chance of either being vectored directly to intel or being vectored to an engineering/scientific AFSC with a follow-on, career-broadening tour in intel, most likely at NASIC or one of the labs. That said, with a high GPA (and here comes the college president part) you would be well advised to pursue a grad school slot and/or one of the numerous named "fellowships" (East-West, Lawson, Nutter, Wolfe, etc....and if you are super-sharp, Rhodes) through USAFA and/or the AOG. Roughly 10% to 12% of each graduating class is afforded such an opportunity. Why would you want to do this? Dude, it is free and anywhere from 18 months (MA/MS) and three years (PhD) of not wearing a uniform (unless you attend NPS). Beyond that, and I can say this with some authority as my institution has close connections with numerous corporate and US Government partners, to advance very far in the corporate world or government, you will need at least an MA/MS. The world has simply become too complex to survive on the laurels of a BS alone, regardless of where you earned it. If you want to move into senior leadership (corporate officer, SES/SIS/SFS, and, increasingly, GO/FO), you will need a graduate education. And it will develop your cognitive and intellectual faculties, something desperately sought by all stripes of employers in an information-driven world. Where language will help in this regard is in preparing you to pass the graduate language exam required by nearly all of the stronger Social Science/Humanities/and some Science graduate degree programs. Consider taking a look at the bios of the corporate officers at some of the most prominent Fortune 100 companies (they are almost universally on their respective websites), you will notice something stands out: nearly all of them have a graduate degree, and many will have a terminal degree (MD, PhD, JD). Due to my role at the college, I talk with the CEO of the largest energy company on the west coast on a regular basis. She has pointed out to me the supreme importance of a graduate education as a component of any senior leader's development. Beyond all of this, and especially in intel, knowing more about the world around you, through whatever field of study you choose, will only make you a more effective thinker, decision-maker, and leader.
So, pursue a language if it interests you. However, I would not recommend sacrificing a high GPA for a skill that has less relative value in proportion to your GPA and where it can take you and your career.
Does this help or hinder?
Very respectfully,
It is such an individual aptitude/teacher issue that there is no way to predict. I do know in Arabic there was unlimited EI.
