Board dates announced for new AF language program

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anthony J. Hyatt
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Active-duty officers interested in the Language Enabled Airman Program have from July 5 to Sept. 5 to turn in application forms, LEAP officials announced recently.

LEAP, managed by the Air Force Culture and Language Center in Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., is a newly established career-spanning program to select, develop and increase foreign language capability within the general population of Airmen, according to the AFCLC website.

"LEAP is designed to provide both a ready source pool of language enabled Air Force personnel using a structured system to sustain and enhance their ability to communicate, and secondly, to train these personnel to perform their duties in a language other than English," said Capt. Ryan Stebbins, the 39th Force Support Squadron Manpower and Personnel flight commander and Incirlik LEAP coordinator.

Selection boards are held twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Application criteria will be released July 5 and will be accepted until Sept. 5.

Below are the criteria that must be met in order to be eligible for LEAP:

· Applicants should be available to participate in a proficiency-appropriate language intensive training event of up to six weeks, which may include an overseas immersion or classroom training within the continental United States or at an overseas language training detachment.

· Applicants must be unrestricted commissioned officers in the Air Force serving on active duty. Regular officers who do not yet have an assigned career field, such as recent graduates from AFROTC or the U.S. Air Force Academy without career designations, must contact the Directorate of Personnel Services at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB, Texas, and accept a career designation prior to participating in LEAP. Applicants should understand that participation in LEAP may influence career designations and chosen languages may be changed to accommodate demand from career field functional managers, LEAP officials said.

· Active duty officers, grades O-3 and below, must possess an Interagency Language Roundtable proficiency level of 2/2 or better in a strategic language. Majors and above are encouraged to apply they possess a Defense Language Proficiency Test measured proficiency of 3/3 or better.

· Officer candidates must have demonstrated scholastic achievement. AFCLC officials recommend an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or better. Traditionally, GPA have been strong indicators of an ability to learn additional languages, however, these quantitative measurements are not the only factors considered for admission into LEAP, officials stated.

· Applicants must have demonstrated foreign language aptitude. A recent DLPT measured proficiency of at least 2 in a minimum of two modalities (speaking, reading, and listening comprehension) and a Defense Language Aptitude Battery score above 100 are desired. The DLAB score will be a consideration and is necessary in cases where retraining into another language at the Defense Language Institute is indicated and possible.

· Candidates must have a record of exceptional military performance.

· AFCLC officials suggest waiting until completion of a graduate program before applying for LEAP.

· Officers in technical or rated career fields are highly encouraged to apply.

· Applicants must notify their commanders of their intent to apply for LEAP prior to submitting applications.

"This experience gives an added dimension to an officer's education in preparation for future assignments and deployments to overseas locations," said Captain Stebbins.

For more information about LEAP or to download an application, visit the www.culture.af.edu website.