Airmen form Goodwill Ambassador Team in Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kelly White
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  Airmen from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing read to second, third and fifth-grade students April 19 at a host-nation school in Southwest Asia.

The Airmen are members of the base's newly-formed Goodwill Ambassador Team, a team created to promote good relations between U.S. and coalition members and host-nation residents.

"The team is geared toward, but not limited to, Arabic-speaking members," said Capt. Patrick Cordova, the team organizer and 379th AEW Public Affairs chief. "With a team of community-oriented Arabic speakers, we can engage in meaningful conversation so our hosts don't just see the results of an action, but also know the thought process behind it.

The team's first event coincided with the school's "Book Week," in observance of World Book Day, April 23. Throughout book week, students attended three workshops a day where they focused on reading-related activities tied to their regularly-scheduled studies, which include subjects such as Islamic studies and English language.

"Ultimately, there's no better way to increase our knowledge and appreciation - of not only the things that make us different from one another, but also the things we have in common - than by coming together face-to-face," he said. "This was the first of what we anticipate will be many opportunities to gainfully interact with members of our host-nation community."

Opportunities for interaction like this are beneficial to her students for several reasons, said Nele Noe, the school's academic vice principal.

"It's very important for the boys to see people who are different from them," she said. "Many of the students don't get an opportunity to travel and see different cultures and how other people live. It's also good for them to see that the military doesn't all carry weapons."

Ninety percent of the students attending the school are host-nation children. The other 10 percent are from other Arab countries.

"This is also an oral culture, and we're making a push to increase literacy here," Ms. Noe said.

Having visitors come to the school and read during book week shows the boys that other people read, reading has value and can be fun, and it's not just their teachers who believe this, she added.

Team members took turns reading to different classes throughout the morning.

"They started calling me 'Teacher Shala,'" said Staff Sgt. Shala Baugh, a 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron airborne cryptologist linguist.

"I wrote my first name on the board and one of the boys wrote his last name beside it, it made me laugh, like I just got married to a fifth-grader," she said jokingly.

Others who visited the school also said they felt well-received by the students.

"They loved it," said Maj. Cam Shirley, a 379th Expeditionary Operations Group pilot. "They all wanted to shake hands, find out my name and how old I was. It was a lot of fun."

The students also engaged team members in other "get-to-know-you" activities.

"As soon as I walked into the room, the kids crowded around me, giving me hands to shake and telling me their names," Captain Cordova said. "The children then sounded out the letters as I wrote my name on the board with a dry-erase marker. Next thing I knew I was signing autographs."

The students, who are taught more of their classes in English than in Arabic, practiced speaking English with their visitors. They also had a chance to teach their visitors some Arabic words.

"One student helped me pronounce words in the Arabic book I was reading," said Senior Airman Joseph Warren, a 763rd ERS linguist. "I said, 'shukran.' He said, 'you're welcome, no problem.'"