DVIDS – News – LEAP Fellows Strengthen Partner Interoperability with African Partners

Eleven Language Airman Program Fellows have accomplished the burden of building partner interoperability with our African nation partners through language support that has helped the 435th Air Expeditionary Wing and 409th Air Expeditionary Group improve sustainment water at Niger Air Base 101, Niamey, Niger.

Through the Air Force Culture and Language Center Training Partnership Request, the 435th AEW requested translation assistance for a technical writing project to translate two major documents. The documents, totaling 62 pages, had to be translated from German into English. Some parts of the document also required multifaceted translations from French to German to English.

“This technical writing project has demonstrated the positive impact of LEAP fellows in building partnerships in Niger and meeting short-term operational needs through language and cultural skills,” said the head of the Linguistics Division of the LEA. ‘AFLCC, Mr. Christopher Chesser. “In response to General Charles Brown Jr.’s call to accelerate change or lose, our researchers are breaking old paradigms and bringing the capacity to endure when and where it’s needed.”

The translation of these documents was essential to continue an ongoing project with the 435th AEW and German partners to drill a well at a deployed location for sustainable water retention. Without the support of the LEAP team, the unit’s mission could have been postponed or derailed.

The LEAP team coordinated with members around the world and divided into teams. Each team divided the pages equally between team members to create the translation. After completing the translation of their assigned section, members sent their materials to a designated partner for review. The leader of each team consolidated the documents and looked for discrepancies. The consolidated documents were then sent one last time for review before sending a final copy to the applicant.

German Major Franklin Nesselhuf, a LEAP Fellow, participated in the project as the first official translation opportunity for the Air Force.

“The documents prevented the USAF from having to go through the testing and verification process a second time. The documents we were using were actually a German translation from Niger government French and revealed that the water was too hard to filter. This information will be very useful in advising civil engineers where to drill and what facilities are needed to make water safe to drink. As we seek to compete with Russia and China in Africa, the development of bases and the promotion of stability in societies will be the key to geopolitical success and human flourishing,” he said.

Lt. Col. Gordon Kinney, 435th AEW Director of Staff, thanked the LEAP Fellows for their efforts in meeting the translation needs of this project.

“Africa is an unforgiving environment. Between the heat, the dust, the wind and the lack of water, our airmen are taxed daily,” he said. “This well provides our Airmen with the peace of mind they need to focus on delivering secure, reliable and flexible power projection platforms to combatant commanders. And it’s thanks to the efforts of a few brilliant and dedicated LEAP Fellows.

Prior to the requested translation assistance, the German partners involved in the project had already drilled wells on their side of the base. The 435th AEW team needed a translation of these documents regarding the well established to expedite and enable the drilling of the US forces well. Without the translation of these documents, the American forces could not continue to dig the well for the sustainment of the air base. Funding and engineering were in place, so translating the document was the last piece needed to begin the urgent project.

Lt. Col. David Troxell, 768th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron commander, also expressed his sincere gratitude to the LEAP team and their work in supporting a project that will significantly improve their base’s critical systems.

“This translation helps streamline a $500,000 project, ultimately supporting a total $1.6 million water production/treatment and distribution system,” he said. “This will go a long way to calming our nerves over the water supply so that we can focus on maintaining base operations, building our African partner’s defense capabilities and enabling counter violent extremism operations in the country. Sahel. This is not just a victory for the United States, it is a victory for all of our allied and partner nations.”