MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- A hallmark of the Language Enabled Airman Program is having more than 3,700 Airmen and Guardians with specialized skills in language, regional expertise, and cultural proficiency, ready to step in when a crisis hits. Needs arise frequently, sometimes unexpectedly, but these service members are always prepared to respond. Numerous examples from recent years may be found in the Russian LEAP cohort, many who have navigated complex challenges and provided crucial support when it mattered most.
One of the first Airmen selected to LEAP when the program stood up in 2010 was then-cadet Masha Scheglov Twin. A senior at the Air Force Academy, Scheglov Twin applied to and was accepted to LEAP which afforded him opportunities to develop and sustain his Russian as a Cyberspace Operations Officer. Twelve years later he found himself as a key interlocutor. “When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, I helped provide some translation services to Ukrainian migrants seeking refuge in Romania when the conflict broke out,” said Lt. Col. Masha Scheglov-Twin. “As one might imagine, it was an emotional experience, as many of the refugees had fled leaving their homes, families, and livelihoods in exchange for safety and some semblance of security. It helped put them at ease during such a stressful time, knowing there was an individual there that could help answer questions and provide information in a language that was familiar.”
Events like this don’t just display the readiness of LEAP Scholars, they also highlight their versatility in the abundance of missions that they can accomplish.
“An opportunity presented itself after the invasion of Ukraine when a journal of a defected Russian military soldier surfaced online,” said Maj. Roman Obolonskiy, a maintenance officer by trade. “I joined a team of four to translate the text for Air University and their course attendants who were beginning to study Russia’s way of war in Ukraine. This task was very challenging and much more time-consuming than I initially expected. A big part of the challenge was trying to decipher the specific terminology used by the Russian military. To accomplish this, I often found myself on Russian military forums online and learned far more about the Russian military than I ever expected to.”
This versatility allows LEAP Scholars to contribute to mission speed and success in a myriad of ways, enabling them to be a significant force multiplier.
Capt. Jordan Garcia, selected to LEAP in 2017, has developed his proficiency in Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, and Turkmen. “I had the opportunity to interpret for Ukrainian operators for a few weeks at a technical schoolhouse under U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command,” said Garcia, a Foreign Area Officer (FAO) currently serving in a joint position as Chief of the Office of Military Cooperation at U.S. Embassy Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. “This stretched me to the limit of my knowledge in Ukrainian and Russian in an environment that was very unfamiliar to me. Thanks to LEAP, I had confidence that my language skills were sufficient to contribute to the mission, and I learned from my mistakes on the go. Those Ukrainians trained well and went on to achieve significant results in their home country.”
LEAP Scholars accomplish a wide array of missions because their language, regional expertise and culture skills are cultivated by the Air Force Culture and Language Center. The AFCLC uses several methods to develop LEAP Scholars. The first is eMentor courses, which consist of online teaching from a language instructor.
“eMentor is an excellent tool as it pairs an individual with an instructor through a virtual classroom,” said Obolonskiy. “The instructor can tailor the lesson to the individual, and my needs lie in developing my writing skills. Overall, I walked away from each course with improved abilities.”
“I have used the eMentor program for many years for Russian and Japanese,” said Maj. Marie Carillo, a fighter pilot who serves as an instructor pilot teaching in the F-16. “The colloquial phrase ‘if you don't use it, you lose it’ certainly rings true for most language skills. eMentor has not only allowed me to maintain my baseline proficiency, it has even helped me improve in several areas of the Defense Language Proficiency Test over the years.”
The AFCLC also utilizes Language Intensive Training Events (LITEs) where a LEAP Scholar is completely immersed in their language.
An example is the Language Enabled Airmen Postured for Agile Combat Employment, or LEAP-ACE, which teaches advanced proficiency LEAP Scholars how to express ACE in the target language of allies, partners, and adversaries. 1st Lt. Nestor Levin, a United States Space Force engineer, recently completed a Russian LEAP-ACE course held at Hurlburt Field, Fla. and found it to be a valuable experience.
“To me adversary understanding is knowing the strengths and weaknesses, rationale, methodology of our opponents, and I believe that this course was helpful in learning how to work with our allies in pursuing the ACE mission,” he said.
LEAP scholars with advanced proficiency and experience may be selected for an Advanced LITE through the Training Partnership Request process.
"My fluency in Russian recently enabled me to participate in a LITE during TITAN ODYSSEY 24, a HUMINT (Human Intelligence) and Counterintelligence certification exercise for a U.S. Army Military Intelligence Brigade in Vicenza, Italy,” said Chief Master Sgt. Sergey Aguryanov, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of Staff at HQ Space Training and Readiness Command. “This opportunity was particularly valuable as the Space Force, still being in its early stages, continues to develop its language doctrine and policies. During the exercise, I served as an intelligence source/informant, engaging in multiple Russian-language interviews with participating soldiers. The information I provided proved instrumental in helping Military Intelligence analysts unravel the complex exercise scenario. While their linguists were still developing advanced Russian proficiency, the exercise provided them with vital initial training in conducting interrogations. This LITE experience not only allowed me to utilize and further hone my language skills but also offered valuable experience collaborating with the U.S. Army in an international setting. Ultimately, I gained insightful experience and played a role in strengthening their intelligence collection and analysis capabilities."
As LEAP Scholars grow and develop their language, regional expertise and culture (LREC) skills, some choose the path of becoming Foreign Area Officer (FAO). A FAO is a commissioned officer who specializes in international affairs. Their roles include advising senior leaders on political-military operations, building relationships with foreign leaders, coordinating security cooperation, and serving as defense attaché or political-military planners.
“I became a FAO via direct utilization,” said Lt. Col. Joshua Evans, a mobility pilot who recently served as a FAO. “LEAP helped prepare me by keeping my language and cultural skills sharpened. Most of my FAO time has been SOUTHCOM related, but even working with SOUTHCOM my Russian language skills have been used. In addition to my day-to-day staff work, I also got to assist with the Chairman’s Russia-Ukraine Crisis Management Team when Russia invaded in 2022."
Maj. Andrew Chen, a LEAP Scholar and pilot, also pursued a path in the FAO career field. He currently serves at the Office of Defense Cooperation at the US Embassy in Warsaw, Poland as the Deputy Chief, working on security cooperation and foreign military sales with the Polish Ministry of National Defense.
“Having credible language, cultural, and overseas experiences no doubt helped my application for Regional Affairs Strategist back in 2014, and I was selected to an Assistant Air Attache’ position to Moscow right away,” he said. “In preparation for my second FAO tour here in Poland, my Russian background made learning Polish much easier than it otherwise would have been, as the grammar is already familiar to me, and there are a lot of similarities.”
Whether they decide to pursue the FAO path or not, the development of LEAP Scholars enables them to answer the call when they are needed and helps give them the tools to help boost warfighting readiness in multiple missions.
“My third deployment as a LEAP Scholar in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine took me to Lithuania, where I served as a consecutive interpreter for a training event,” said Tech Sgt. Volodymyr Palko, NCOIC, ISR Operations at 9th Intelligence Squadron, Beale AFB Calif. ”The event brought together specialized forces units from across NATO nations and Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces. My role was crucial in ensuring smooth communication, enabling the forces to collaborate and refine their skills, further strengthening our collective defense capabilities.”
This ability of LEAP Scholars to bridge gaps and foster trust directly improves the interoperability between the U.S. and our allies, strengthening combat readiness and lethality.
“One of the chief benefits of alliances is the cross-pollination of tactics and strategy, thereby increasing military readiness and lethality for all parties,” said Capt. Kent “Vlad” Romney, USAF Space Force, INDOPACOM Information Warfare Chief. “My experience in LEAP, specifically in the Eastern European Reassurance mission, is a powerful example of this truth."
Palko, a recent LEAP volunteer for Eastern European Reassurance missions, echoed that LEAP Scholars are a major contributor to integration with our partner allies.
“Intelligence sharing has proven to be one of the top factors driving the lethality of US-Ukraine coalition in this conflict," he said. "LEAP Scholars deserve full credit for serving as lethality force multipliers, acting as conduits for information, training, and arms supplies in the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II.”
Those who have requested and utilized LEAP Scholars, such as Charles Garrison, with the 7th Army Training Command, Grafenwöhr, Germany, have noted the value in having a pool of LREC enabled Airmen and Guardians at the ready.
“I used the program for two different requirements; Training and Exercises in USAREUR-AF AO and the initial stages of the Ukraine War after Russia invaded in 2022,” he said. “I was the AOR Language Manager for USAREUR-AF. The structure of the LEAP program made aligning resources with the requirements efficient and timely. LEAP was able to provide Cultural and Language Subject Matter Experts to our requirements quicker than any other source. LEAP Scholars provided Commanders and key staff members with a trusted uniformed expertise for daily engagements with allies and partners.”
Obolonskiy also emphasized the importance of having an already identified stockpile of Language Enabled Airmen and Guardians ready to step up when needed.
“LEAP is more than just the ability to attend online courses and in-country language immersion events,” Obolonskiy said. “It is a highly important tool that identifies and develops language and culture professionals around the globe. Nobody knows where the next war will begin, and thus, we must have a pre-identified pool of airmen who can be called up in case of a need, as I did before the full-scale invasion in 2022. Thanks to LEAP, I had prior translation and international cooperation experience that was critical for American interests then.”
A ready force of language enabled Airmen and Guardians is what Russian LEAP Scholars have been during challenging times, providing an example of what LEAP Scholars stand prepared to do in the future, whenever the need arises.
“LEAP contributes to warfighting readiness in numerous ways,” said Garcia. “As I study military history, it seems that repeatedly conflicts arise in locations where few people expected them. And when those conflicts do kick off, there is a sudden surge for relevant regional specialists and linguists. The USAF has learned that you cannot create a language-enabled USAF airman overnight. Even the breakneck pace of Defense Language Institute takes a year, and graduates of the basic course require months of additional training to reach mission capable (status). A far more efficient approach, in my opinion, is what LEAP does; it identifies, grows, and maintains language proficiency within the force, spread across almost all career fields. LEAP is a resource that has shined during crises in the past and it will shine again when the next war begins in a country that we did not expect.”