Unclassified

Chapter 3
Linguist Recruiting and Testing
Section I
Acquisition
3–1. General
Linguists play an important role in carrying out Army missions. The Army must recruit, train, and retain qualified
linguists to satisfy Army requirements. The following paragraphs describe how the Army recruits linguists and
describes the testing procedures used to identify personnel for language training.
3–2. Recruiting programs
a. The Army recruits Soldiers with various language and cultural capabilities through accessions and in-Service
recruiting and reclassification programs. The Army continually reviews language inventory and sustains that capability
using various programs such as enlistment and retention bonuses (see AR 612–201 for more information). The Army
Civilian Acquired Skills Program (ACASP) should be used as much as possible to access personnel with foreign
language and cultural skills consistent with current and future readiness requirements. The DCS, G–2, in coordination
with Army Human Resources Command (AHRC), develops a mission letter and provides it to the Deputy Chief of
Staff, G–1 (DCS, G–1) who provides these requirements detailing specific recruiting targets by language to the U.S.
Army Recruiting Command (USAREC). The ACASP saves the Army training time and money and enhances Army
readiness. To enhance the capability of the ACASP recruiting program, USAREC will assign and utilize Soldiers with
language and cultural skills as language advocates. These Soldiers are used to augment the accession of language
qualified Soldiers to fill current and emerging requirements for the Active Army (AA) and the Reserve Component
(RC). The 35P military occupational specialty (MOS) has very stringent security requirements in order to control
access to our most sensitive strategic information. The Army must ensure during accession or reclassification that
neither Soldiers nor their spouses have any immediate family members who reside in a country within whose
boundaries physical or mental coercion is known to be common practice against—
(1) Person accused of or acting in the interest of the U.S.; or,
(2) The relatives of such person to whom they are reasonably considered to be bound by ties of affection, kinship,
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or obligation. Immediate family for both Soldier and spouse includes both blood and step parents, spouse, children,
sisters, brothers, and sole living blood relative or person in loco parentis per AR 600–8–10.
b. Soldiers or their spouses may not have commercial or vested interest in a country where physical or mental
coercion is known to be common practice against persons acting in the interests of the U.S. Soldiers must also be U.S.
Citizens.
c. The 35M, 09L, and Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program do not have a
notification of foreign national affiliation (NFNA) requirement and the recruitment of Soldiers or their spouses who
have foreign contacts is not an issue unless it prevents Soldiers from obtaining the necessary security clearance
required to hold the MOS.