Jet engine mechanic wins language award

  • Published
  • By Karen Harrison
  • Language, Region and Culture Program Office
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Since 2002, the Air Force has awarded outstanding Airmen who possess superior foreign language skills and leveraged their capabilities to increase the Air Forces's mission effectiveness.

Senior Airman Michael Abrash was recently selected as the Air Force Language Professional of the Year for 2011.

Although Abrash earned this linguistic honor, he joined the Air Force in a completely different role: a jet engine mechanic. Being a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2000, Abrash was not aware that his proficiency in Russian could help his career.

Abrash self-identified his language skills to the Air Force, even though he was not using them on a daily basis at work. He continued to maintain his language capability at the required level and thus was available to fill an important Air Force personnel gap.

"There was a shortage of Russian enabled linguists seven months ago to fill a slot in Kyrgyzstan," Abrash said. "So the Air Force sent a mechanic who happens to know Russian."

Although Abrash is modest regarding his language skills, his accomplishments abroad did not go unnoticed.

According to Col. James Jacobson, the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, "Airman Abrash fulfilled a critical role as a military linguist for the Transit Center as Manas, Kygyzstan. We used his language skills on a daily basis to accomplish the Transit Center's most vital missions."

Specifically, Abrash oversaw 5,000 guests through 39 U.S. and Kyrgyz socio-cultural events; provided a critical link for security as the wing's interpreter to the Kyrgyz president's Secret Service; managed 12 information exchanges involving six different Kyrgyz ministries; and enabled proper validation of 16 humanitarian aid projects that generated over $4 million in the Bishkek area.

Abrash's personal initiative shows the benefits of learning and sustaining LRC skills, officials said.

"The recent deployment opened my eyes to the different things I could be doing in the Air Force," Abrash said. "This deployment might shape the rest of my career."

The Air Force recognizes the need to have Airmen with cultural and linguistic knowledge in order to properly respond to the dynamic challenges of today's world, said Barbara Barger, the Air Force Senior Language Authority. Airmen with language, region and culture skills increase the effectiveness of Air Force operational capabilities both at home and abroad, she added.

"Senior Airman Abrash's success illustrates why the Air Force is placing such an emphasis on having cross culturally competent Airmen," Barger said. "Abrash's language skills and cultural knowledge help strengthen communication and collaboration between American and Kyrgyz personnel."

Abrash said he recognizes the critical role his language, region and culture knowledge plays in fulfilling his own duties.

"My cultural knowledge allows me to see more clearly the different aspects of a military force and how it affects everything in the world," he said.