MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The Mansfield Fellowship Program is one of the most prestigious international fellowships in the world. This year, three of the selected Mansfield Fellows are also members of the Language Enabled Airman Program.
Asia-Pacific Region Military Exchange Officer Major Charles Cadwell, Joint Space Operations Center Deputy Flight Commander in Weapons and Tactics Captain Laura Marshall, and 92nd Air Refueling Squadron Flight Commander Captain Logan Barlow are all LEAP participants who have been chosen for this year’s Mansfield Fellowship. This past week, they visited the Air Force Culture and Language Center and shared how the Center’s resources helped them improve their language skills.
“I have taken the eMentor classes and I have been on a LITE {Language Intensive Training Event},” Capt Laura Marshall said.
The Mansfield Fellowship program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1994. Each year, ten Mansfield Fellows travel to Japan where they work with the Japanese government on a host of issues relevant to U.S. interests and Asia. Candidates for the fellowship must have strong language skills and in-depth cultural knowledge.
Managed by the Air Force Culture and Language Center, LEAP uses online courses and immersions to provide regional, cultural, and linguistic training for Airmen; coursework that helped prepare the newly-named Mansfield Fellows. Mr. Howard Ward, the Air Force Culture and Language Center Director, said that this is true testimony of how beneficial the Center is to the world.
“You can see the confidence of the LEAP participants who have been sustaining their language skills in our program,” said Howard Ward, the Air Force Culture and Language Center’s Director, “it is truly incredible and speaks volumes”.