The Foreign Service Journal, April 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2020 55 frequent security drills. Approximately 500 GGF personnel have benefitted from the classes. The program was designed for the specific purpose of arming GGF personnel with sufficient professional English fluency to be trained at a higher standard and to be able to immediately and effectively apply the lessons learned in the field—namely, to accurately and quickly report security incidents that they might potentially engage in, whether experienced directly or occurring around their work stations or watchtowers. Those who attended the classes are now comfortable using English in the face of adversity and danger, and they are able to make tough decisions when required. They have mastered the ability to quickly and correctly react to commands or threat situ- ations and then verbally report to the higher authority, or write the incident report in a detailed, accurate and timely manner. “The classes not only helped me professionally during my security duty in the embassy, but also helped me gain confi- dence while speaking in other settings,” says senior GGF mem- ber Nar Bahadur Thapa. “Additionally, I now know how to write incident reports in an accurate and timely manner, which is a crucial aspect of the job.” At his concluding ceremony, GGF member Bhim Bahadur Gurung said that the program had been “a double reward for me, since I was able to develop my English language skills while in the workplace.” A Critical Dimension The GGF personnel are now able to carry out specific job duties seamlessly by communicating fluently with their chain of command, expatriates and locally employed guards during times of crisis at the command of the regional security officer. They now know how important it is to listen before accurately responding with the five W’s and one H (Who, What, Where, When, Why and How). They are able to translate their under- standing of English into the day-to-day spoken and written word, which has a direct impact on the overall security of the U.S. mission in Kabul. Strengthening their English-language capabilities has added a critical dimension to GGF members’ unique ability to commu- nicate efficiently and secretly among themselves using Nepali, much as the Navajo “code-talkers” used their language as a means of secret communication during World War II. As the case of the Gurkha Guard Force and the English for Work program in Afghanistan shows, it is worth keeping in mind German journalist and writer Kurt Tucholsky’s saying: “Lan- guage is a weapon; keep it honed.” n