What language should the Army and other Armed Forces of the United States utilize? We are a diverse group of citizens and "striving to be citizens" from across our Nation and territories-seemingly united in our cause and belief as dictated by, if nothing else, our oath of enlistment.
Army Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy, has a small blurb in Chapter 4, paragraph 13. So aptly named, the Army Language Policy. I quote from the regulation:
4–13. Army language policy
English is the operational language of the Army. Soldiers
must maintain sufficient proficiency in English to perform their military duties. Their operational communications must be understood by everyone who has an official need to know their content, and, therefore, must normally be in English.
However, commanders may not require Soldiers to use English unless such use is clearly necessary and proper for the performance of military functions. Accordingly, commanders may not require the use of English for personal communications that are unrelated to military functions.
What this means
to me is that in the general performance of official duties, personnel in uniform should speak English. This of course does not apply to dealings in foreign nations where utilization of another language is necessary for official duties etc.....
Further, in a service members off time, if they choose to speak another language-no issue. I have no difficulty with this particular interpretation, as it is my own.
We have several units on our FOB from Puerto Rico and other predominantly Spanish speaking areas (USAR / NG units)...they come to the aid station QUITE FREQUENTLY and very often our medical staff has to wait until the unit sends up a translator because the soldiers cannot, or will not, speak English. I have become quite fed up with this situation and have refused to be the "translator" any longer.
The other day, one of their medics came in with a patient who
I know speaks English because I treated him for a VERY minor / superficial GSW about 3 weeks ago. Graze wound, no sutures required etc....the medic brought him BACK in for visit number 7 since his incident and he refused to interact with my medical staff in English, preferring instead to speak Spanish to his medic and have her relay the information. I considered this as part of official military duties, not personal conversation, and stated it as such. Further, I told them that while wearing the US Army uniform and presenting in my aid station as either a medic or a patient, they would speak English because the remainder of my staff didn't speak Spanish and had no way of knowing what was being said.
So TODAY...I get notified of my pending EO complaint. I was confronted by their unit's leadership because I "wasn't nice to their soldier" when I told them they would speak English around my staff and while performing official duties. Their argument was that the conversation was a private matter and therefor protected by the language policy.
I asked him exactly how anyone ELSE was supposed to know the conversation was a private matter who didn't speak Spanish? For all my staff knew, they were being belittled and berated and were the butt of unfriendly comments. After all, who was going to say otherwise if they weren't fluent in another language?
I know the complaint will go nowhere because the medic was acting in an official capacity and translating the patients words. This is not my concern or the point of this topic.
I'd like to offer this up for discussion because this is disturbing to me. Perhaps my views are antiquated, or just plain wrong?
I speak Spanish. I have worked in countries all over the world. When I am working someplace else, I make every attempt to learn as much about the language and culture as I can-because that is a part of that nation's identity and their populations identity. I know more than 50, but less than 75 words in Arabic from my time here, and I utilize them to interact with the locals. If nothing else, they get a kick out of it
But, if I were to join their Army, I would be expected to know and use their language. I do not think this request unreasonable.
I have a very negative view regarding illegal immigration and it's effects nationwide. I realize that these soldiers are NOT illegal immigrants, but also that they are making little to no demonstrated effort to assimilate themselves into the language portion of the culture of the United States. This then bleeds into service in the Armed Forces outside their own secluded little area back home; where speaking only in Spanish is acceptable. Some of them have even produced their deployment medical record....all forms and entries are in Spanish.
So, I open the floor to points of view and opinion.
Eagle
El Ejercito de Los Estados Unidos-or US ARMY?
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