Death of a Trade

[rangerrebew]

Death of a Trade
by JWJune 27, 2019

My trade as a Military Linguist, at least as currently constituted, is going to die.  It gives me no pleasure to offer this terminal diagnosis, but its death is inevitable and, in my opinion, it will die quickly.

For two-thirds of my career I have been an OpMI (Operator Military Intelligence Linguist) and more recently an OpTI (Operator Technical Intelligence).  The basic function of this role is to listen to enemy voice traffic and translate it. This task, depending on language and target can range from an extremely simple translation to incredibly complex and culturally sensitive language assessment.  The competence of the operators also ranges from basic to expert.  The numbers employed in working on any particular language are never high, ranging from single figures to perhaps three figures supporting big campaigns.  The majority of these linguists are second language speakers, although there are some native speakers involved.  Other nations use a higher proportion of native speakers and thus their calculation will be different.

https://wavellroom.com/2019/06/27/death-of-a-trade/

[sneakypete]

Ehhhh,not so much. For one thing,this guy is British,which means his experience with the British military will be vastly different from the American Military.

Frankly,I have no idea how this works in the British military,or even in the conventional US military,but I do know human translators will not be getting replaced on Special Operations teams anytime soon. Not only can they translate,but they can also help haul necessary gear and they can also shoot and stand watch at night,

BTW,my niece married a guy that enlisted in the Navy,and they sent him to language school to learn Muddle Eastern languages. He has been in the Navy for about 12 years now,is a E-7,and AFAIK,has never served a day with a Navy unit. He has been attached to different US Army units his entire career,and is now stationed at a Army base in the south.

This tells me a couple of things. One is the good news she didn't marry a dummy,despite him joining the Navy because he must  be very,VERY good at his job or he would have been sent back to the Navy long ago to sit in some office somewhere and translate intercepted messages.

The other thing it tells me is that translators on the ground that are capable of deploying with Special Operations Teams and do their translating both accurately and under a certain amount of pressure are VERY hard to find,and I don't see the need for these people disappearing any time in the near future. In fact,I am shocked that language translation isn't a slot on Special Operations Teams,and he hasn't been "drafted" into the USMC (Force Recon does VERY good work!) or the US Army.

Besides the obvious mathematics of language,there are the nuances that software and machines can't deal with,like the look in a man's eyes as you ask him questions while he is still in shock at being captured and not thinking straight,and the FACT that by the time you get him back to a higher headquarters were the staff officers get to deal with him,any intel he had is already dated and expired.

Nope. Humans can't be replaced yet,and maybe never. Not out at the sharp point where time is everything,anyhow.

[Absalom]

Hmm..................can't be replaced eh???
Wait till Frankie Boy canonizes a Robot!!!!!

[catfish1957]

Death of a Trade
by JWJune 27, 2019

My trade as a Military Linguist, at least as currently constituted, is going to die.  It gives me no pleasure to offer this terminal diagnosis, but its death is inevitable and, in my opinion, it will die quickly.

Not disputing this claim, as the writer is obvioulsy more knowledgeable on this matter than I am. 
Still, considering how much more surveillance there is in communication, I just don't see this being a job that is going away.  And as far as AI?, check out the accuracy of Alexa, and other like devices.

[truth_seeker]

http://www.dliflc.edu/

[sneakypete]

Not disputing this claim, as the writer is obvioulsy more knowledgeable on this matter than I am. 
Still, considering how much more surveillance there is in communication, I just don't see this being a job that is going away.  And as far as AI?, check out the accuracy of Alexa, and other like devices.

@catfish1957

The problem is,and will always be,that software can respond,but it can't think. Only humans can think and then respond,and that is what you need when you are out and about capturing high value targets.  Or at least trying to capture them and trying to make determinations on the value and true identities of the ones you did capture.

[sneakypete]

http://www.dliflc.edu/

@truth_seeker

Thanks! I had no idea Presidio was still open. My half-brother lives in the area,and he told me years ago they had closed the army base and sold off all the land,so I assumed the language school there was history,also.

Presidio is maybe the most beautiful area I have ever seen. There is no doubt places that can match it in beauty,but I have a hard time imagining anywhere that is more beautiful.