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US Military in Communication with China: the Role of Chinese Language Training

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US Military in Communication with China: the Role of Chinese Language Training U.S. Military in Communication with China: The Role of Chinese Language Training Programs in Shaping Future Capabilities Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kurt D. Fife, M.A. Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2017 Dissertation Committee: Professor Galal Walker, Advisor Professor Xiaobin Jian Professor Marjorie Chan The views expressed in this document are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, the United States Department of Defense or the United States Government. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Abstract The U.S.-China relationship is “the” most consequential bilateral relationship in the world. As the U.S. and China engage, even if both sides do not see eye-to-eye on all issues, it is extremely important to find areas of cooperation that are able to have a positive influence on the world. In its role as a superpower, the U.S. is constantly taking on problems that are global in nature, and there is an increasing need for China to play a greater role in addressing global issues. There is an undeniable element of asymmetry in the U.S.-China relationship where the Chinese seem to have the upper hand when it comes to trade, educational exchanges, and ultimately, the amount of information flow from one country to the other. This asymmetry can never be overcome by quantity. The only alternative is for the U.S. to focus on quality. This focus on quality will result in the need to develop individuals who are trained to understand, appreciate, and interact with Chinese counterparts at an advanced level. Constructive and stable military-to-military ties between our two countries is vital to our relationship’s success and could be the key to alleviating some of the asymmetry in the relationship. This means that the U.S. military needs the vision to develop many of its operators and leaders not only to possess “expertise” in their respective military career fields, but also to be able to function with “expertise” in Chinese language and culture while practicing their individual careers. ii The preponderance of our Chinese language-trained military members serve in the “intelligence community,” but there is a group of military members known as Foreign Area Officers (FAO) whose focus is developing language and cultural expertise that might ultimately aid in national security efforts through direct engagement with Chinese counterparts. The Department of Defense (DoD) wants these FAOs to function as our “experts” and to conduct the necessary face-to-face interactions with Chinese counterparts. Currently, the DoD focuses on a form of assessment created by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, called the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT). This test is used worldwide, throughout government agencies, and is the only official measurement for a member’s language proficiency in listening and reading. This project shows how the DLPT focuses on “proficiency” without the ability to capture what a member can “do” using the language. Ultimately the DLPT drives the foreign language program in the DoD since all goals, decisions, and projections are based upon DLPT results. This project draws heavily upon the author’s personal experiences and those of other military members, in order to make the case that the U.S. military needs to shift from “proficiency” to “expertise” with our FAO force in order to be truly effective. The concept of a “3rd space” is introduced and operating in the “3rd space” is recommended as the goal for our FAOs in the U.S. military. Furthermore, crucial to this concept is the fact that the ability to operate in the “3rd space” is evidence of “expertise” and that “domain” is the key concept for developing this “expertise.” iii Currently, FAO accession does not occur until the seven to twelve-year point in an officer’s career. This project aims to show that we not only lose the opportunity for the FAO to deliberately practice Chinese for the seven to twelve years prior to accession, but also lose the opportunity to utilize the officer during his/her approximate three and a half years training needed to become a FAO. The experiences of the author as an Air Force pilot, coupled with graduate studies and the research in this project, have created the concern for lack of an effective China FAO program. This project proposes a new concept for FAOs, involving a deliberate pipeline, a career-long language developmental focus, and the crucial concept of linking military specialties to the language. If implemented and managed properly, this course of action will be more cost-effective and will produce FAOs able to operate with language, regional expertise, and culture skills which have previously not been attained. iv Acknowledgments Words can in no way do justice to explain my feelings of gratitude for those who have helped me with this dissertation project. First, I would like to thank my dissertation committee: Professors Galal Walker, Xiaobin Jian, and Marjorie Chan. As my advisor, Dr. Galal Walker has been one of the most influential people in my life. Every contact, every conversation, every Tuesday meeting left me with knowledge I will use for the rest of my life. The instruction Dr. Walker provided to me did not necessarily always have to do with Chinese language pedagogy, but was often about life in general. For example, how to set appropriate, realistic, and attainable goals. Without his guidance, I could never have accomplished this project. His encouragement, suggestions, and example has forever changed my life. Dr. Xiaobin Jian is the reason I came to the Ohio State University to pursue my doctorate. While there were other outstanding programs available to me, during my decision-making process, it was his willingness to correspond with me (while I was deployed overseas), patiently and readily answer all of my questions that made me quickly realize I was interacting with an educator who truly cared. Both Dr. Jian’s teaching style; and his insight into how to train students to achieve high levels of Chinese, and to encourage them to pursue expertise in their domain, is second to none. Dr. Jian has always exceeded my expectations of how and what a professor should be. v Dr. Marjorie Chan is an amazing individual. She has the unique ability to always make a person feel better just by interacting with them. Her personality and positive outlook on life and learning is infectious. Every class, conference, or activity that I participated in with Dr. Chan was a true pleasure. I am grateful for her encouragement and guidance throughout my journey at the Ohio State University. I am grateful to Colonel Daniel Uribe, the Department Head of Foreign Languages at The United States Air Force Academy, for having confidence in me and for affording me the amazing opportunity to pursue this degree. I am grateful for the opportunity to someday return to his department as a “payback.” I would also like to thank Army Colonel (ret.) Don Fischer (Ph.D.), a former Dean and Provost of the Defense Language Institute for his patience and willingness to discuss my project during the early stages. His experience and insights with the concept of language training in the military are an invaluable contribution to this project. I want to thank the various officers, enlisted, and government civilians throughout the DoD that I interacted with while researching this project. Their willingness to discuss my project, return my emails, provide data, and share their experiences about Chinese language training programs was crucial to the completion of this project. I want to acknowledge that the Air Force Institute of Technology reviewed the draft form of this dissertation to ensure compliance with Air Force standards and directives. Finally, I want to thank my family: Heather, Sarah, Hannah and Tyler. They did an amazing job putting up with a preoccupied husband and father for the past three years. They all were a tremendous support and always encouraged me to “keep at it” and have a vi positive attitude even when I thought, “I would rather be flying.” I love them and am forever grateful to have them in my life. vii Vita February 21, 1975 ..........................................Born, Biloxi, Mississippi 1999................................................................B.A. Operations Research, United States Air Force Academy, CO 2000................................................................M.A. National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School, CA, Concentrations: Far East Asia—China 2005-2008 ......................................................Instructor Pilot, Laughlin Air Force Base, TX, T-1A 2008-2011 ......................................................Instructor Pilot, Yokota Air Base, Japan, C- 130H 2012-2013 ......................................................Course Director, Chinese 131/132 and Instructor Pilot, T-53, United States Air Force Academy, CO 2013-2014 ......................................................Air Advisor, Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan 2014-Present ..................................................Ph.D. Student, The Ohio State University, OH Fields of Study Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures viii Table of Contents Abstract ..............................................................................................................................
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