MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- This summer, Language Enabled Airman Program scholars and Foreign Area Officers Lt. Col. Dariusz Wudarzewski, Maj. Mark West, Tech. Sgt. Remigiusz Czelny, and Tech. Sgt. Roza Kowal are providing Polish language support to U.S. Army units for Exercise Combined Resolve and its associated joint exercises in Germany and Poland through the Air Force Culture and Training Center’s Training Partnership Request program.
Exercise Combined Resolve evaluates and assesses the readiness of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team and 1st Calvary Division to fight and win during their regionally allocated forces rotation in support of Atlantic Resolve. The exercise also focuses on strengthening interoperability with multinational partners.
Sponsoring U.S. Army organizations utilized LEAP language support successfully, highlighting the importance of language and culture in engagements with partner nations.
“Tech. Sgt. Roza Kowal is doing great things here in Poland. She supported a Poland tour with senior leadership and personally assisted senior leaders during all movement and tour activities, ensuring the right context was appropriately understood, and operational considerations conveyed. She also provided behind-the-scenes notes to senior leaders after the visit, sharing insights, which they greatly appreciated and will aid in future basing and infrastructure agreements between the U.S. and Poland. Appreciate the team’s assistance in ensuring we had this support available,” said U.S. Army Maj. Chad Lorenz.
Kowal recently returned from supporting this mission and said she found the event to be a great educational experience from a language perspective. She also learned more about combat skills and leadership. Like many LEAP scholars, her previous experiences with eMentor, traditional Language Intensive Training Events, and an Area Studies Immersion proved helpful while participating in Exercise Combined Resolve.
“eMentor taught me most of the military terms and appropriate titles for all the civilian personnel. You cannot directly translate a polite response because some words are not used in the English language. My Traditional LITE provided me with cultural knowledge of [how to interact with different people] in daily life. [Most importantly, my Area Studies Immersion gave me] a deep knowledge of the Polish economy, political situation, and cultural traditions. This information helped me better communicate with Polish soldiers and leadership because I understood what they were trying to convey to U.S. personnel without having direct translations. Additionally, I was able to explain certain reactions to the opposite groups to avoid conflicts,” Kowal said.