Elizabeth M.

Blowers
M.A. Linguistics Thesis Proposal

The Linguistically and Culturally Adept Officer: A Study of USACCs Culture and Language
Initiative Programs and Their Future Effect on the Army Officer Corps

My intended thesis for my Masters in Linguistics with a focus on Language, Culture and
Society is a comprehensive study of two programs available to Army Reserve Officer Training
Corps (ROTC) Cadets. The programs in question - Project Global Officer (Project GO), and the
Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency program (CULP) - intend to expose Cadets to
different languages and cultures in preparation for their commission as a Second Lieutenant in
the United States Army. Originally an initiative of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Army at
large, the necessity for more linguistic and cultural training among the force has continued to
grow over the last decade. My thesis will consider the historical events leading to the recognition
of this need and the creation of such programs, an study of the programs methodologies in
approaching language and cultural instruction with university students, and an analysis of how
these programs will help the Army and the Department of Defense reach their goals of a more
culturally sensitive force.
The governing body of ROTC within the Army is United States Army Cadet Command
(USACC). My study will begin with a historical outline of how initiatives at higher echelons of the
U.S. military trickled down to affect USACC, and how they intended to meet these new
standards through the creation of optional language and cultural training programs for their
ROTC Cadets. I intend to write to an audience with little to no knowledge of the U.S. military, so
this section will prove essential in clarifying how decisions at the highest level eventually reach
these Cadets. As the inclusion of more language and cultural training was recognized as
mission-essential following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I hope to shed some light on just
how critical this training is for our soldiers and military leaders when they interact in foreign
societies.
The next part of my study will outline Project GO and CULP individually. I will explain the
goals of each program, how they structure their training and how their program will help reach
the Armys goals. This part of my study will include a great deal of my research completed last
fall with Army ROTC Cadets at Syracuse University. Cadets who participated in both programs
completed surveys about their experiences and some will be interviewed in-person. The Cadets
attitudes about language and culture training, and in particular their attitudes regarding how
these programs affect their cross-cultural understanding and empathy as a future Officers, will
be addressed.
The final part of my study will be an analysis of how these programs are helping the
Army reach their linguistic and cultural goals, and in what areas they may have deficiencies. I
intend to stress the importance of this type of training for Officers once they enter the force, as
this training has a tendency to fall by the waist-side and be misunderstood. I have conducted
surveys and will conduct interviews with Cadet alumni of these programs, currently serving as
Active Duty Officers in the U.S. Army, in order to gauge how they believe these programs
affected who they have become today as a military leader.