McGuire, Local Colleges Join in Cultural Ed

An arrangement spawned between then commander of McGuire AFB, N.J., Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.), and the presidents of Burlington County College and Thomas Edison State College is aiding the Air Force effort to indoctrinate airmen in currently relevant foreign language and culture, reports The New York Times. The Air Force has been identifying airmen with foreign language skills and made such training an integral part of the Air Force Academy curriculum. It also has created a Culture and Language Center at Air University in Alabama. McGuire started its effort last year, with the schools providing classes in Farsi, conversational Arabic, and they quickly added cultural training, as well. The schools are working around deployments, offering some programs online. The Times reports that other Air Force bases offer similar programs.