Danish Army Interpreter Unique in Afghanistan (VIDEO)

Most countries only use Afghan nationals.

Photo and video courtesy: NATO

(SALEM, Ore.) - The term for language interpreters in Iraq and Afghanistan is generally 'terp and they are highly regarded. These are the men and in the case of Iraq, women, who work with Coalition forces and in almost every case, place their lives on the line for doing so.

But Danish troops in Afghanistan are taking a different approach and as the video below from NATO Television indicates, using members of their own forces to translate the lingo can be highly effective to say the least. This soldier named Jon speaks six different languages.

I became friends with two interpreters in Afghanistan and had the chance to meet a few different 'terps working in Iraq.

In Kabul I knew two young women who were British soldiers, trained in the Dari language as interpreters. Dari is spoken in the northern parts of Afghanistan, while Pastun is spoken in the south.

These young soldiers were shy and I never actually saw them go out the gate. I'm not sure how using western women would have fared outside the wire in that country, but they would have probably done just fine.

The Danish soldier named Jon in the video is making huge inroads and he says it is always a surprise to Afghans when they see a foreign soldier speaking their language.

I thought this video was a good look at a country's effective use of its military. You will have to watch it and reach your own conclusion.

Using their own keeps the risk factor lower for local Afghans who might otherwise fill the role, but it also removes a job from the local economy.

Video

Special thanks to NATO Television

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Neat story, Tim. I've witnessed the relationship developed between Soldiers and local native interpreters. It's truly something hard to describe with words. Life and death in the balance across social and ethnic lines.

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