An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Aug. 13, 2013

Interpreters break down language barriers of Africa Endeavor

By Spc. Zach Sheely Colorado National Guard

LUSAKA, Zambia - Gathering personnel and delegates from 38 African nations, five European and North American nations and several African and international organizations - many who speak different languages - to participate in a large-scale, joint military training exercise can present unique challenges.

Among these trials is a gap in communication as wide as the continent of Africa itself.

Interpreters provide the vital bridge over this gap during Exercise Africa Endeavor 2013 - U.S. Africa Command's annual, multilateral 10-day scenario-driven communications exercise, Aug. 6 to 15, in Lusaka, Zambia.

The primary language of Africa Endeavor is English. However, the official language of many African nations is French, or Portuguese, so much translation is needed to ensure that everyone is operating in synch.

"Africa Endeavor is an opportunity to learn from each other's experiences and build that interoperability in joint, multinational, multilingual, peace-keeping operations," said Mustapha "Mus" Kjaouj, public affairs language specialist, AFRICOM. "Different language speaking nations communicating via interpreters is in many cases the only way they can interact."

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Bryan McRoberts, exercise director of Africa Endeavor, AFRICOM, echoes that sentiment adding that overcoming the language barrier and understanding cultural differences is a key objective to Africa Endeavor.

"Many of the participants of Africa Endeavor have no other opportunity to meet their colleagues and counterparts from across the continent," McRoberts said.

Kjaouj, a Morocco native, who served in the U.S. Army, translates
presentations, briefs and conversations back and forth from English to French and Portuguese during the exercise, and is also fluent in Arabic.

Joined by Kjaouj as an African native serving an important role to Africa Endeavor is Missouri Army National Guard 1st Lt. Pesseglou Yoma. Born in Togo, Yoma is also on hand at Africa Endeavor to translate to and from his native language of French.

"Having interpreters here makes it a very good experience for non-English speaking personnel," Yoma said. "It can be challenging, but it adds to the overall sense of community here at Africa Endeavor."

The benefit of the interpreters is not lost in translation on participants who don't speak English.

"Translators are vital for non-English speaking participants," said Lt. Rodolphe Maxime Ockandji of the Republic of Congo, through the translation of Yoma. "Even though they may be learning English in their native countries, they don't yet have the English-speaking skills to interact without an interpreter. The interpreters have done an outstanding job to help the non-English speakers learn and have input here as well."

Translating multiple languages on the fly and rewriting briefs and
presentations in a different language comes at no small cost.

"By the end of the day, I'm wiped out," Kjaouj admitted.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...