What would you consider Army critical languages at this point in time and in the future also (next 10 years)?

PVT Angelo Velez — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 13:32:31 -0400

I want to learn a couple new languages while in college. I'm curious as to whether anyone would know these critical languages. Although the college I am attending only offers French, Spanish, German, Chinese, and Japanese; I am still wondering what our critical languages are in the Army.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 1:34 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 13:34:16 -0400

I would go with something in African where deployments are going now. I learned French thinking about reclassing to 35P F and, I don't think that would work. PVT Angelo Velez

Also, look in JKO, there are a lot of Headstart Courses that will help you getting familiarized with a nnew language, they are free and, if you take the whole curriculum, they give you 16 Promotion Points each.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 1:38 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 13:38:58 -0400

Chinese.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 28 at 2015 1:41 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 13:41:04 -0400

What countries do you want to be stationed at?

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 28 at 2015 1:50 PM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 13:50:23 -0400

PVT Angelo Velez I think everyone will look at the current threats out there and the world and say that is the language you need to learn. I look at it from an educational standpoint as well. What will better serve you after your military career? The answer for me would be Spanish. Here is why. There are awesome opportunities and missions in South America as part of our continued Nation Building in that hemisphere. Not only can you get some very cool assignments with that language capability, but just think about the opportunities in the civilian sector being bi-lingual. Just a suggestion - look beyond your service time toward transition as well.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 3:40 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:40:48 -0400

Russian

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Jul 28 at 2015 4:34 PM

MSgt James Mullis — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 16:34:30 -0400

While Spanish is a great language to learn for a life skill and it is easily the second most spoken language in America, if you are hoping to receive critical language incentive pay for knowing Spanish, it will never happen. The US and DoD are flush with Spanish speakers and will be for at least the next 20-30 years. For incentive pay, look into learning Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Korean, Pashto, Urdu, Indonesian, Swahili, or Hausa. Admittedly, most of these languages will get you assigned to places you don't want to go. For my money, I'd recommend Chinese to anyone interested in a new language. The DoD will pay you to stay proficient, nearly every company in America does business with or in China, and it is one of the least spoken languages in the US (low competition = high probability of getting a job).

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 5:12 PM

1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 17:12:33 -0400

Spanish will help in life and depending on what you want to do after the military, even Chinese.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 28 at 2015 5:13 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 17:13:34 -0400

Chinese or any of the middle eastern languages as well as Spanish are most vital.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 5:57 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 17:57:55 -0400

Vision 2020 has us looking at rolls in the south east part of Asia so anything there would be good, middle eastern languages and spanish would also be beneficial

Response by MAJ(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 7:15 PM

MAJ(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 19:15:47 -0400

This is simply a thought, but one that might be valuable depending on what you want to use your language skills for. The Army has several langauges which they consider priority, but already have plenty of Soldier who speak them. Chinese and Spanish are two of the biggest in this category. While they are appealing languages for a lot of reasons, if you are trying to bring a rare but useful skill, don't pick a language like these. I know, the Army trained me in Chinese, but I don't come anywhere near the skill level of a native speaker, of which the Army has many. At the end of the day, no one really cares about my Chinese language skill accept for Finance when they are cutting my language pay orders.

Look at languages that are used in strategically important countries, but which the Army doesn't already have a lot of native speakers. Indonesian is a good example. Farsi is also valuable. You might also try to see if you can find Malay. All these languages serve strategically important populations, of whom their are few in our military.

Response by PVT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 10:02 PM

PVT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 22:02:21 -0400

I plan on learning arabic, German and spanish during my time in the army. arabic and spanish seem to be good languages to learn.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2015 11:45 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 23:45:05 -0400

In my mind and in order:
Farsi
Arabic
Mandarin
Korean
Urdu
Russian
French

Response by CPL(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2015 8:42 PM

CPL(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 20:42:52 -0400

Chinese, Russian, Farsi, Indonesian or Tagalog.
Chinese are the biggest threat upcoming. A 200m person army and something like 4 billion people means their resources are scarce. They are going to be in more conflicts with the Philippines as they attempt to annex islands there and steal their fishing resources. I'm not sure if you have looked up how sovereign water rights works but it's kinda interesting. There will likely be an escalation if the so called economy tanks or they draw us into defending a sovereign nation. Then you have the Russians, where Putan is a nut job with an itchy trigger finger wanting to restore the glory of the fabled USSR. Farsi is because after Iran attacks us or Israel we are going to war there. Indo and Tagalog if you are going to be SF because you'll likely be taking out terrorist targets both hostile militants and hackers. If anything gets botched in your exfil you're going to need those languages in Mindinao.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 25 at 2015 5:46 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 17:46:59 -0400

Russian, Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin), Korean, Arabic, Farsi, and French. Good luck.
-MSG Reeve