OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- On May 17, 2024, the 488th Intelligence Squadron Command Language Program team was announced as the 2023 Air Force CLP of the year.
Operating from Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, the team supports 150 linguists by conducting annual and semi-annual language events, schedule and evaluate tests, and aid language study practices for students learning a new language and culture.
The program’s accomplishments over the past year have earned the team the honor of being named the best of the best, serving as the standard for other programs to emulate with a laudable commitment to excellence, said Crystal Moore, Headquarters Air Force, Force Development director. “The 488th Intelligence Squadron does an outstanding job of equipping Airmen to be mission ready with the necessary language skills to meet any requirements.”
The Language Mentor Program is a subprogram of CLP, which allows the team to work one-on-one with linguists of all skill levels to develop individual training plans that fit Airman’s aptitudes and flying schedules. The LMP has a 100% linguist rehabilitation effectiveness rating, directly contributing to the squadron’s 95% Combat Mission Readiness level.
“This award highlights that our Command Language Program Team is the very best in the Air Force and one of the best across the Joint Force,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Weilbacher, 488th IS commander. “Our entire squadron is comprised of high-performing airmen that routinely go above and beyond to drive our critical mission forward and our language program is a key component of this effort.”
When two direct support operator program cryptologic language analysts were struggling, the team established a curriculum created solely for them. The CLP staff matched linguists with Language Mentors, leading to a perfect rehabilitation rate and enabling a 15% increase in direct support operator entity manning, bolstering Threat Warning capabilities and enabling safe and effective operations for Special Operations Command-Europe aircraft and warfighters.
“We have passionate, invested, and capable Airmen and civilian support personnel who are continually going above and beyond to take care of our large cadre of airborne and ground linguists supporting a critical, no-fail DoD intelligence mission,” Weilbacher said. “This includes providing bespoke language continuation training, generating opportunities to learn a new language, and managing efforts to bring sub-proficient linguists back up to Air Force standards.”
The 55th Wing CLP manager, the 55th Operations Group leaders, and CONUS-based squadron CLPs collaborated to develop a steady, reliable, and cooperative communications web and structure for language management across the Wing.
Weilbacher and his team strive to make things easier for their linguists and he is ready for what the future holds for his squadron.
“Language is our weapons system and it’s our job to advocate for our members to get the tools they need to maintain and enhance their skills,” said Weilbacher. “We’re helping the next generation of linguists build a community of linguists who help each other and work together. This award will help us build on that community.”