THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE CENTRAL COMMAND (AFCENT)

BACKGROUND

The United States Air Force Central Command (AFCENT) provides regional security and stability throughout the 20-nation CENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR). This includes responsibility for all air operations, either unilaterally or coordinated with coalition partners, and contingency plans throughout Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen. AFCENT Security Forces enable the critical interactions and coordination with host nation security and ministry personnel to enable operations and ensure force protection of deployed U.S. military personnel, as well as the security of assets, resources and bases.

SCOPE

Interpretation
Translation
Transcription
Verification
Summarization
Training
Supervision
Deployment and Management Support
Cultural Consulting

CHALLENGES

AFCENT Force Protection defends, secures and safeguards U.S. Airforce facilities and personnel. Performing their assigned duties, contract employees must often engage and interact with Host Nation officials to include military and law enforcement personnel as well as civilians. Success within the AOR requires trust which is built upon a foundation of understanding, respect and relationships. It is the employee who bridges the cultural and language barriers that facilitates the establishment of a mutually beneficial agreement through their expertise.

AFCENT linguists—like many in austere environments—must follow standards of conduct and operate efficiently during long periods of pressure, stress, and heightened states of threat. Finding employees that meet the high level of standards, can excel in these conditions and enable mission success is an ongoing challenge for AFCENT.

SOLUTION

Delivering a pledge to fulfill these requirements, LIS Solutions was awarded a contract to support the AFCENT mission. LIS sourced, vetted, tested, trained, hired and deployed 20 Arabic and Hindi cleared linguists to the CENTCOM AOR who performed language, administrative and cultural advisory support, 24 hours a day seven days a week. LIS linguists supported AFCENT missions by functioning as integral members of a team of highly trained professionals responsible for the safety and security of U.S. military and civilian personnel and resources.

Our onsite Program Manager provided additional management, logistical and customer support further advancing the mission. Through the life of the contract, LIS Solutions consistently maintained an Excellent CPARS rating.

Challenge coin awarded to Samuel Sidamed for excellence in program management for the United States Air Forces Central Command (USAFCENT).

KEY STATS

22 CLEARED PROFESSIONAL LINGUISTS

3+

IN ALL ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ILR EXAMS

1,000+

OF TRANSCRIBED AUDIO AND VIDEO HOURS IN ARABIC AND HINDI

100%

TRANSLATION ACCURACY

24/7

LINGUISTIC SUPPORT

5+

YEARS TECHNICAL LINGUIST EXPERIENCE

LIS has been exceptional in its response to the evolving needs of AFCENT Force Protection and has proven itself available and quick with problem resolution. Their established business relationships with sponsor agencies enabled quick and efficient processing of requests for passports and visas for various countries. LIS exercised the best management practices while leveraging in-country relationships and sponsors during the COVID-19 outbreak, which resulted in several effective outcomes that exceeded the customer's expectations. LIS truly cares about the needs of the customer, and provided exceptional support throughout their contract.

— Eric V. Rutherford, MSgt, USAF
Manager, FP Contracts and Resources