All Air Force Academy cadets will be required to study foreign language beginning with the fall 2007 semester. Lt. Col. Scot Allen, deputy department head for foreign languages, told the Daily Report yesterday the Academy is now offering Portuguese in addition to the four “strategic” languages (Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Japanese) and three Western languages (French, Spanish, and German) already in the curriculum. This is the first new language to be added in 30 years. A year ago, academy superintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni met with DOD personnel chief David Chu and pledged that the Air Force Academy would increase its foreign languages curriculum. The academy has even extended the newfound language requirement to its engineering and science majors, who previously were exempt. Allen said academy officials worked with Secretary of the Air Force’s international affairs office to choose Portuguese, which he said has strategic value in South America and Africa as well as Portugal. Similar language pushes are taking place at the other service academies, and the Pentagon just last month announced implementation of its new civilian Language Corps.
The Department of the Air Force does not consistently or systematically ask Airmen or Guardians how dormitory conditions affect their quality of life and readiness, which reduces the department’s ability to identify and prioritize improvement efforts, according to a Government Accountability Office study published Sept. 19.