For Army ROTC Cadets, the world is their classroom. Every year hundreds of Cadets travel the globe, spending up to three weeks immersed in foreign cultures, learning more about how other others around the world view the U.S. and, in the process, learning more about themselves.
The Army recognizes the need for young leaders to develop more cultural awareness and foreign language proficiency skills. Now more than ever, cultural awareness training is a vital component to the ROTC curriculum. Overseas immersions help educate future leaders in ways the classroom cannot.
Cadets now receive opportunity to compete for immersion in more than 40 countries. These opportunities expose them to everyday life in different cultures and intensifies language study, which helps produce commissioned officers who possess the right blend of language and cultural skills required to support global operations in the 21st Century.
Participants experience up to three different venues during immersion, including humanitarian service, host nation military-to-military contact and education on the social, cultural and historical aspects of the country. The future goal is for at least half of all Cadets to complete a CULP Immersion Internship annually.
THE CULP EXPERIENCE
Immersion into foreign cultures exposes Cadets to the realities that other countries have vastly different lifestyles, economic standing and world perspective.
Cadets travel in small groups led by senior leader cadre. Trips typically incorporate approximately 20 Cadets and a cadre member traveling in conjunction with a civilian agency or non-governmental agency.
The trips last approximately one month, which encompasses the deployment as well as a five-day Soldier readiness process.
CULP slots are awarded on a competitive basis and take into account several factors, such as GPA, physical fitness, an essay, and other pertinent selection criteria.
OTHER LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES
Small liberal arts colleges may never be able to support a robust foreign language program. Some larger institutions such as colleges of engineering, technology, or nursing may not offer modern foreign languages at all. Cadet Command programs have been implemented to facilitate Cadet participation from any and all institutions. Any contracted Cadet can participate for academic credit in critical foreign language courses through attendance at Summer Language Institutes at various academic "Hub" institutions, NSEP Flagship institutions, or the Language Enabled Cadet Program or other form of distance learning. And, most will be eligible for a Culture and Language Incentive Pay Bonus, (CLIP-B).
CLIP-B, is aimed at promoting the study of languages and cultural studies that are of importance to the Army. Cadets can earn the CLIP Bonus by earning a grade of B or better in college strategic language courses or associated cultural studies. Language studies bonuses are graduated in increasing amounts and in sufficient dollar amounts to provide an incentive to persuade Cadets to gain a foundational level of Cultural Awareness and Foreign Language competence.
1. Study Abroad:
SROTC Cadets are encouraged to spend a semester, special or summer session in academic studies abroad if feasible. Special incentives are available to further attract qualified Cadets to these valuable programs. These programs are administered by USACC DCS G-2. Details for submitting an application for Study Abroad can be found in CC Reg 145-1 and CC Pam 145-1, Section 2-10.
App. Deadline: Fall Semester Overseas 30 May; Winter/Spring Semester 30 October; and Summer Sessions 30 March.
2. Scholarship Programs:
a. Foreign Language Scholarship. Effective SY 07-08 U.S. Army Cadet Command began providing a centrally funded scholarship for individuals majoring in specific foreign languages. The intent of this scholarship program is to encourage enrollment of individuals studying specific languages. It is expected that the list of foreign languages will change across time. A list of eligible languages will be provided on an annual basis. Individuals already receiving the scholarship will be retained on scholarship even if the specific language is removed from the list.
(1). Eligibility criteria are explained in CCR 145-1. The scholarships are offered for the appropriate amount of time to ensure graduation, end of benefits, and commissioning occurs simultaneously. Participants in this program must be academically and militarily aligned.
(2). Scholarships awarded under this program will be centrally funded similar to the Nurse program. The scholarships will not count against brigade funding. Any scholarship Cadet currently majoring in an approved, less commonly taught foreign language will be converted to the Language Scholarship. Overseas study for at least one semester is encouraged subject to the current regulations and guidance.
b. Foreign Area Scholarship. Cadets at more than a dozen universities may participate in the National Security Education Program Flagship scholarship. Cadets can get information on this 5-years plan to gain fluency in a strategic foreign language at www.thelanguageflagship.org
3. National Security Education Programs ¯ Project Global Officer and ROTC Flagship:
About Project GO and ROTC Flagship. The Institute of International Education (IIE), acting as the administrative agent for the National Security Education Program (NSEP), provides grants to U.S. institutions of higher education to:
a. Expand cadet participation in Less Commonly Taught language studies; and,
b. Bring cadets into direct contact with the living, contemporary region they are studying either through study abroad, whenever possible, or through other innovative means.
c. Details on both programs may be found on the IIE website at: http://www.rotcprojectgo.org/
App. Deadlines: Application window is currently open to apply for study in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Hausa, Hindi-Urdu, Kazakh, Korean, Pashto, Persian (Dari, Farsi, or Tajik), Russian, Tatar, Turkish, Uyghur/Uzbek. Application window is now open for the majority of the programs. For complete listing of programs, scholarships and deadlines, visit www.rotcprojectgo.org
Upcoming Application Deadlines:
November 1, 2012 - James Madison University, a 10 week, 15 credit hour program for Study of Swahili and African Culture in Kenya. Applications are accepted at http://www.nendaprojectgo.org/index.shtml
For more information about Project GO language scholarships, e-mail projectgo@asu.edu, call 480-727-6158 and visit Project GO website www.rotcprojectgo.org.
4. The Language Enabled Cadet, (LEC) Program offers Cadets an excellent opportunity to become certified in the LEC program and earn important Order of Merit List, (OML), points. In the time constricted environment experienced by most Cadets, the LEC program may be the best option for foreign language learning and certification. The primary learning medium for the LEC is the Defense Language Institute's Headstart-2 program. Defense Language Institute, (DLI), developed the Headstart2 program to help deploying troops gain foreign language skills. The program is one path that can help Cadets develop language skills. Headstart2 is a computer-based, self-directed language learning program. The self-guided program takes between 80 to 100 hours to complete. After completing the course, Cadets should have gained enough language skills to conduct business and have limited communication with civilians in the local language.
Go to http://hs2.lingnet.org/index.html to take these courses. NO DEADLINES. Work at your own speed.
