This Air Force program forged ties with foreign militaries. Now it's on the chopping block

A corner of Lackland Air Force Base is home to what might be the most important English language academy in America.

In classrooms on San Antonio’s Southwest Side, foreign military personnel study English so they can be trained to operate and maintain sophisticated aircraft and other U.S. military equipment. The stakes are high. If a pilot’s command of English faltered at an inopportune moment — if he couldn’t decipher a checklist for making an emergency landing, say — the results could be disastrous.

It’s called the Defense Language Institute English Language Center, and it’s critical to foreign sales of U.S. military hardware, which totaled $118 billion last year. The program is also a pillar of cooperation between the U.S. and its allies on the battlefield: It’s easier for troops to fight together when they speak the same language.

Now, however, there’s a cloud over the entire enterprise. The reason? Teaching English doesn’t directly contribute to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s goal of enhancing the “lethality” of the U.S. armed forces.

Hegseth has ordered the military services to cut “nonlethal programs” by 8% so the money can be spent modernizing weapon systems and enhancing combat readiness.

Under a proposal outlined by an Air Force general, the 637th International Support Squadron, which runs the language school at Lackland, would be shuttered along with other units that train and advise foreign militaries.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/defense-language-institute-lackland-637th-wing-cut-21065248.php