Training for Afghanistan

[jcustis]

My experience is a mixed bag when it comes to linguists. Making one translate everything at a meeting can sometimes totally bog things down, confuse you and your host or vice-versa, and create an unintended result of fatiguing the linguist.

Depending on the linguist's proficiency and exposure to working with you, the protocol can be made more or less restrictive, but I would not recommend making him attempt to translate everything in a conversation unless he is "collegiate level".

Recording conversations is great for documenting and recapping sometimes long engagement events. It is, in fact, one thing that we did not do well our last time out, but I will make a point to ensure it gets done this next time.

[davidbfpo]

The UK police and others make extensive use of 'Language Line' for telphone translation; I've only used it for prisoners in custody, when upon arrival their rights etc need to be explained (seperate arrangements for interviews). Their website is: http://www.languageline.co.uk/ (they are originally a USA based company).

Given that mobile phones now are in wider use in Afghanistan (no idea of coverage) would it make sense for a similar in-theatre set-up? Each patrol, without a "terp", can callback and get help.

davidbfpo

[mhusband]

Through out the Kandahar Region AWCC or Roshan cell phone coverage is shotty at best. Even when your in a coverage area there are frequent problems connecting and in many areas the Taliban force the cell phone towers to be turned off or are willing to destroy them via RPG attacks.

I would highly recommend that you vet interpreters and have them do some training with their assigned unit while waiting around Kandahar Air Field or FOB Bastion before heading down range and due to OPTEMP I would recommend that you have 2 terps per combat team.

[marct]

Through out the Kandahar Region AWCC or Roshan cell phone coverage is shotty at best. Even when your in a coverage area there are frequent problems connecting and in many areas the Taliban force the cell phone towers to be turned off or are willing to destroy them via RPG attacks.

Good points; they are also completely insecure.

[mhusband]

Good points; they are also completely insecure.

I doubt that the TB are listening in on your cell phone but it's always a possibility.

On the flip side of that... It would be a VERY good idea to invest in ICOM radios for your units. The TB operate by using them in the clear because they think you're not paying attention.

[davidbfpo]

I doubt that the TB are listening in on your cell phone but it's always a possibility. On the flip side of that... It would be a VERY good idea to invest in ICOM radios for your units. The TB operate by using them in the clear because they think you're not paying attention.

According to this ICOM radios are standard issue and presumably the Taliban know that now: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/5...ghanistan.html

davidbfpo

[mhusband]

For the US it's not standard issue (we had to beg borrow and pay for one out of what ever operational budget we could find). However, I know teams that have had terps banter back and forth with TB on ICOM's.

Typically before TB attack there is increased traffic on their radio's. It's how they coordinate almost everything.

[marct]

Hi JC,

My experience is a mixed bag when it comes to linguists. Making one translate everything at a meeting can sometimes totally bog things down, confuse you and your host or vice-versa, and create an unintended result of fatiguing the linguist.

That's certainly possible. What i was thinking of when I made the suggestion was a story in Steve Featherston's Harpers article. Steve was out with a patrol which had a 'terp. The local elder they were talking with, when asked about whether or not the Taliban were in the area, responded with a story about an elephant being nibbled to death by ants. The 'terp translated this as "No Taliban activity around here" .

The story itself actually illustrated how the Taliban were operating in the are and, if it had been translated, would have opened up a fruitful discussion. Because it wasn't translated, the partol leader had no idea that there was activity in the area.

Recording conversations is great for documenting and recapping sometimes long engagement events. It is, in fact, one thing that we did not do well our last time out, but I will make a point to ensure it gets done this next time.

Generally, it's a good idea and, since data storage is cheap, it really isn't that much of a problem technically speaking. I use a digital data recorder during field interviews that has an 11 hour capacity and a USB download - plug it into my laptop, copy it, and I'm done.

The other reason why recordings are useful goes back to story telling. If you have a couple of 'terps back at HQ, they can track commonalities in stories that start to show up in an area and that can be used to track Taliban activity in terms of their physical actions (ants vs. elephants) and IO activities. Hopefully, that will give you a faster loop inside their actions letting you counter them before they really get rolling.

[marct]

There's a new, hardened thumb drive that could be really useful for field recordings (see here).