FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS REQUIREMENTS OF THE OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00156R001000060067-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 19, 2003
• Sequence Number: 67
• Publication Date: June 29, 1978
• Content Type: MF

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29 June 1978
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Operations
FROM Thomas Polgar
Chief, Personnel Management Group
SUBJECT : Foreign Language Skills Requirements
of the Operations,. Directorate
1. SUMMARY
1. This paper discusses the foreign language skills
requirements of the Operations Directorate, takes stock
of the unfavorable situation currently existing and
submits recommendations for DDO approval. .
2. Foreign operations require foreign language
skills. While the proper mix of foreign linguists
and operational qualifications has always been a problem,
in recent years there has been significant net loss of
active duty linguists and a reduction in the supply of
linguistically-qualified potential new'staffers. The
foreign language skills in the Operations Directorate
have shown a declining trend for many years. There is
now a critical shortage of qualified linguists in
several major and operationally important languages
as well as in many less frequently used ones. Further-
more, we can project greater than average losses over
the next five years because of the relatively high age
of many of our most skilled linguists still on active
duty. Out of ^ Russian speakers at the professional
(S-4/5) level as of 30 September 1977, or 56% were
over 48 years old. So were 50% of the French speakers,
66% of the Italian, 64% of the German, 53% of the
Chinese, 76% of the Japanese and 38% of the Spanish
linguists. In all these groups we can expect a sub-
stantial number of retirements within the next several
years; indeed many will have retired, not always
voluntarily, by the end of this year. There is no
way that the projected losses could be replaced by the
Career Trainees and other personnel newly entering on
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480 foreign language s s were claimed among this
group, but only 63 claims resulted in verified speak-
ing skills at the minimum professional level (S-3).
?'3. Against the above background, it is not sur-
prising that several of our major stations abroad,
and SE Division in Headquarters, are currently ex-
periencing.major shortages of linguistically-qualified.
personnel.." These shortages are bound to have a detri-
mental effect on operations and production. With the
indications that the situation will get worse, a
number of recommendations are submitted to reverse
the running trend and to bring about short-term relief
through administrative measures.
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II. DISCUSSION
1. Because the bulk of our clandestine collection
takes place in foreign countries and involves personal
relations with non-English speakers, it follows that
DO.-officers should be equipped to communicate in the
environment in which they operate. Knowledge of
.foreign languages is essential for the understanding
of local social and cultural factors bearing on poli-
tical trends, for developmental activities, for cer-
tain debriefings and s variety of operational support.
2. Historically, the Operations Directorate and
its predecessors could take pride in the high level
of foreign language competence among their personnel.
Two major factors contributed to this happy state of
affairs: OSS had made a conscious and determined
effort to recruit people with foreign language skills,
and the continuing involvement of the U.S. military
forces abroad provided an ample reservoir of young
people with interest in and exposure to foreign envi-
ronments. With the aging of the OSS group and the cut-
back and changing functions of the military, the
number of our active duty linguists as well as the
supply of linguistically-qualified potential new
staffers began to diminish. The problems caused by
natural attrition were increased when the FY 1978 and
1979 reductions affected a number of linguists.
3. The unfavorable trends were duly recognized
within and outside of the Directorate. The Language
Development Committee, under the auspices of the
Office of Training, has prepared thoughtful and detailed
studies on the subject. The most recent report of
this Committee covered FY 1977 and was distributed on
6 March 1978 as OTR 78-8129. The following is quoted
from that report:
'? The skills at the higher proficiency
levels in most languages are being lost faster
than the rate of overall Agency attrition.. Only
about one-half of the Agency's Unit Language
Requirements are currently staffed with language-
qualified personnel. (Note: If Spanish were
to be set aside, the overall statistics would
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look much worse. Spanish is the only language
in which most current requirements are being
met.)
The reasons for the steady decline
of higher proficiency language skills are
quite clear. As older employees whose employ-
ment goes back to World War II and the immediate
post-war period retire, they are being replaced
by employees who lack comparable language
skills. This is a problem of not placing suf-
ficiently high priority on language skills in
the hiring of new employees (or the lack of
language skills among the acceptable applicants).
"The other way to upgrade language skills
is through training. Assignment of personnel to
full-time language training for sufficiently
long periods. to register real gains requires
careful personnel planning. The record in
FY 1977 in which only about one-third of begin-
ning-level students remained for a period approx-
imating a full. course of language study clearly
indicates the difficulties.
" . . . During the period FY 1973--1977-there
was a net loss of 19% of all Full Professional
Proficiency -4) skills and 28% of all Native
or Bilingual (S-S) skills."
4. The Language Development Committee estimated
that by the end of FY 1982 20% of all current S-5 and
13% of all current S-4 speakers will be age 60 or
or older. In fact, we will be worse off than these
figures would seem to suggest because the vast majority
of our people retire earlier than age 60, the FY 1978--
1979 reductions have hit a number of linguists whose
important but specialized qualifications resulted in
low-rankings by several panels, and not all Agency
linguists are available for the Operations Directorate.
The average age of skilledlinguists in some of the
operationally more important languages is as follows.
(as of 31 December 1977): Chinese, Cantonese 52.0,
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found that in FY 1977 the language unit requirements
at several major stations were filled very inadeauate,ly:
Chinese Mandarin 42.5, Czech 51.0, French 44.9,
German 46.6, Greek 49.9, Italian 47.7, Japanese 49.0,
Polish 50.4, Portuguese 43.4, Russian 47.3 and
Spanish 42.2. Greater than average losses are
projected over the next five years for Arabic,
Casitonese Chinese, Czech, German, Greek and Italian,
along with a number of less frequently used languages.
The Directorate of Operations is already facing major
language problems with respect to Arabic, Chinese,
Czech, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Polish and
Russian,*and of course also numerous other languages
of less frequent operational usage.
5. Translated into current operational terms,
the linguistic qualifications of personnel available
for operations abroad are actually worse than the
overall statistics would suggest. The statistics
provide the number of skilled linguists, but do not
reflect such-factors as availability for overseas
service and the assignR0nt of linguists to positions
where their linguistics skills are not being used.
The number of linguists available to fill specific
overseas positions at any given time is but a fraction
of the total number of linguists inventoried by the
Office of Training. The Language Development Committee
o the shortfall. Two caveats: Language competence
at the particular stations may be higher than reflected
in OTR statistics because people do improve language
skills abroad but do not always have their new
knowledge tested or recorded; on the other hand, the
unit language requirements established for the several
stations are rather on the modest side.
6. Unsatisfactory as the situation of recent years
might have been, we should expect further deterioration,
as indicated by the following: In French, a language
in which today we are still relatively well off, there
was a net loss of 17% of professional competence
between Fiscal Years 1972 and 1977. However, based
on the FY 1972--1977 rate of change, and taking into
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account the age of our French speakers, the projec-
tion for 1982 suggests that we will have lost 50.3%
of professional level skills over the 10-year period.
Comparable figures for some other operationally
frequently used languages show the following cumula-
tive net losses: Spanish 29%, Russian 37.6%, German
52.2%, Italian 57.8% and Greek 75%.
7. There will of course be gains at the lower
levels of" language skills during the period in question,
but, without very special encouragement, few of the
speakers at the 2 level will "graduate" to the profes-
sional level.
8. The obvious solution, to hire personnel with
required language proficiencies who also have the
potential for operational work, may not be within our
means. OSS was able to call upon the vast personnel
resources of the military services in time of war.
The combination of the. draft and the motivation for
government service then prevailing in the professions,
big business and academia provided a vast reservoir
of talent from which to screen and select those who
combined linguistic and operational skills. There is,
not today any national mechanism for the listing of
linguistically-qualified persons with mobility and
interest in foreign service. Furthermore, there has
been a substantial reduction in the number of univer-
sitiesrequiring a language to obtain a degree, a
gradual breakdown of the European ethnic communities
in the United States, accompanied by a decrease in
the use of foreign languages in the American home,
and an increasing trend toward minimizing the use of
U.S. nationals by U.S. business abroad. (There are
more U.S. companies represented in foreign countries
than ever, but the U.S. nationals employed by the
companies are largely in the senior ranks or with con-
siderable vested interest in the continuation of their
business careers.) In sum, among those Americans who
are likely candidates for Agency employment, there
are fewer with useful language skills today than in
the past.
9. According to the Annual Report of the Language
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Development Committee, reign language speaking
skills were claimed by4_ staff employees who
joined the Agency in F , but only 63 of the
claims resulted in verified speaking skills at the
S-3 level or better. Among the 55 Career Trainees,
16-had foreign language competence at the S-3 or
higher level. The average number of foreign language
skills per Career Trainee was. 0.29,. about the same as
in FY 1976 but a drop from 0.45 in FY 1973 and 0.54
in FY 1974.
10. The problems of acquiring personnel with
existing language skills were demonstrated recently
by the experience of SE Division, a component which
has continuing high-priority requirements in several
less-commonly available languages. Since 1 January
1977 SE Division screened the files of 96 applicants
who claimed fluency in Eastern European languages.
Fifty-three applicants were dropped as a result of
file review. Of the 43 applicants whose files look
good enough to proceed with language testing, 34 were
eliminated because of insufficiency of language skills.
Of the nine remaining applicants, one was washed out
because of personal reasons. One withdrew because of
a better offer from NSA, and one was dropped for
security reasons. Six are still in process. Number
hired since January 1977: Zero.
11. In Europe Division, of =field case officer,
positions requiring intermediate-speaking competence
in the difficult or less common European languages,
only 34 are filled with language qualified incumbents.
Only 15 officers are ready or in the pipeline to
replace these 34. The situation is particularly
difficult with respect to Finnish, Turkish and Greek,
and to a slightly lesser extent with Italian and
Portuguese.' Europe Division considers that, while
the situation is bad now, the future outlook for
meeting language needs is grim.
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t
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functions, generally speaking there will be differences
in the career goals and personalities of the individuals
performing the specific tasks. People who like the
language for the sake of language may not necessarily
be the ones who will make aggressive operations officers,
but may turn out to be fine translators. Those who
have a foreign. language because of family background,
or'who acquired it as a tool for personal or profes-
sional reasons, bring a great asset into the Agency
and it should be a challenging task of screening and
assessment to determine who should be channeled into
the operational area or to other functions involving
the use of foreign language skills. The assumption
that foreign linguists are by definition also foreign
operations officers has been disproved by experience
and most recently by the low ranking given to noted
linguists by the evaluation panels.
3. Recent measures in the personnel area, such
as forced attrition of linguists and a ban on the
hiring of annuitants, have reduced the needed language
skills in the Directorate -- however desirable such
measures might have been from other perspectives.
4. Management at all levels in the Directorate,
as well as in the Office of Personnel and the Office
of Training, will have to devote more attention to the
procurement and subsequent' care and feeding of language-
qualified people and to the training of personnel who
have aptitude and motivation -- above all, motivation --
for learning foreign languages.
III. CONCLUSIONS
1. The problems of acquiring and maintaining the
requisite foreign language skills for the Operations
Directorate are difficult and complex, and there will
not be any single solution. The current situation
is unsatisfactory and detrimental to-operational
effectiveness, and worse is to be expected.
2. The Operations Directorate needs linguists
not only for the pursuit of operations abroad but
also for translations, transcribing and analysis.
While there are some who can qualify in all of these
S. The experts seem to be in agreement that profes-
sional-level language skills can be developed through
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training in the United States, combined with study or
residence in the foreign country concerned. While
it should be possible...-to make assignments sufficiently
ahead to permit full-time language training, the
reduced ceilings of the operating components and
continuing intensive requirements for production and
performance raise questions about the components'
ability to-free their people for. language (and other)
training.. The-operating components may well have to
re-think-their functions and structure -- but that
is beyond the purview of this paper.
6. Rebuilding the foreign language skill reservoirs
of the Operations Directorate will take time, effort
and money. It will not happen quickly or evenly, but
the main thing is to reverse the unfavorable trends.
The following recommendations are submitted to accom-
plish that goal over a period of several years. Effec-
tive short-term solutions are limited to the hiring of
linguistically-skilled, annuitants, protection against
selection-out of skilled linguists now on board and
generous lateral-entry provisions for linguists to
function as translators, transcribers or interpreters.
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as-0gne Co full-
time language training as soon as their first assign-
ment abroad is identified, with transfer abroad
following the completion of language training as
soon as practicable.
4. Operating components should insist that oper-
ations. reports, and analyst officers develop quali-
fications in at least one major foreign language.
S.. Operations and reports. personnel in countries
where French,' Spanish, German or Italian is spoken
should be expected to achieve S-3 level prior to
arrival at post. Achievement or maintenance of that
level should be reflected in the Letter of Instruction
and in the Performance Appraisal Report.
6. Although the precepts for the evaluation and
promotion of "D" careerists mention the importance
of foreign language skills, evaluation panels should
be instructed to give specific and strict attention
to language qualifications in the competitive ranking
of personnel.
7. With respect to the more difficult or less
frequently used languages, formal instruction should
be followed by a total immersion, best accomplished
by sending the officer without family for three or four
months to an area where the language is spoken, or to
the Army language school at Monterey, California.
S. Panels should be instructed explicitly on the
importance of full-time language training and be
cautioned against the lower ranking of individuals
or
P e several occupational categories
required by the Operations Directorate.
2. The provisions of the Language Incentive
Program should be simplified, liberalized and sub-
sequently publicized to all personnel.
3. Career Trainees should be d
IV. RECOAQ4ENDATIONS
1. Develop, in coordination with the Office of
Training and the Office of Personnel, additional
guidelines for the recruitment of language-qualified
pen le f
th
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solely because of time spent in language training.
9. Achievement of S-3 level or higher in full-
GY
Quality Step Increase, in addition to the provisions
of-the Language Incentive Program.
time language training should be recognized by a
10. Sponsoring components (preferably at the
Branch Chief level) should monitor the progress of
full-time-'language students. OTR should bring to
the attention of the sponsoring component significant
problems encountered with a student, such as exces-
sive absenteeism. The necessity for discipline in
language training should be stressed on components
as well as students.
11. Drop-out or withdrawal from full-time language
training should be justified in writing to the DDO,
through CMS, with a copy to OTR.
12. Full-time students completing language training
should be tested and the level of their proficiency
recorded in personnel files.
13. Personnel returning from the field should
have their foreign language proficiency tested and
recorded in personnel files.
14. Foreign language proficiency which was demon-
strably sufficient for operational purposes should be
reflected in the Performance Appraisal Reports.
O
IS. The contract employment of annuitants with
critical language skills should be encouraged.
16. Professional linguists should be evaluated
for promotion purposes but should not be selected as
long as they perform their foreign language-related
tasks proficiently.
17. Establish procedures for hiring of profes-
sional linguists at the going market rate with respect
to renumeration in order to permit the Agency to
compete with private industry and other governmental
entities for individuals with critical foreign language
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skills.
18. Establish meaningful career development
programs for foreign linguists, including training
and opportunities for qualified personnel to transfer
to other career cones.
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Thomas Polgar
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