Lend Me Your Ears: US Military Turns to Contractor Linguists

“Lend me your ears”

The US military has come to rely more and more on contractors to provide linguist services to function effectively in non-English speaking regions. The need for these services is particularly acute in the Middle East and Central Asia where US troops are actively engaged. Technically, there are 2 primary types of linguist services: interpreters and translators. Contractors usually offer both services as part of their contracts.

This DID FOCUS free sample covers US military linguist services contracts and key events.

HERCULES Order Provides a Lift for BAE’s York Plant

M88 & M1: Need a tow?

BAE’s armored vehicle plant in York, PA could really use a lifeline right now. In August 2013, it got a small piece of planned good news. The Pentagon announced a maximum $149.9 million firm-fixed price order for 49 HERCULES Armored Recovery Vehicles and 3 sets of spares, under a no option, multi-year contract managed by US Army TACOM (W56HZV-13-C-0358). The M88A2 has been the standard order for some time now, and represents an important advance for the Army…

Rapid Fire August 22, 2013: New Accusations of Chemical Attacks in Syria

• Syrian rebels accuse the government of having killed hundreds of civilians using chemical weapons near Damascus. Claims of chemical weapon use last year were muddled by attribution uncertainty. Russia continues to staunchly support Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which will get in the way of any effort to ramp up international involvement via the United Nations.