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December 21, 2006

The Preparation Begins

I leave for training in just under three months. In that time, I've got quite a bit to do, as the Army has decided not to send me to Intermediate Leader Education, the Army's school for field grade officers, so I have to complete the course via correspondence, or more precisely, via the internet. Since I have no idea what kind of internet access I may have in Iraq, I need to get as much of the course as possible done before I leave. That means a lot of hours spent reading, writing, and studying, and that means there may be less time for blogging. I hope to keep this up as well, but this has to take precedence due to my impending deployment. I also intend to try to learn some Arabic, so if I have any readers who speak Arabic and have any interest in teaching a novice, please speak up now. Until then, I hope you'll forgive the slowdown in posting. Thanks.

Posted at December 21, 2006 08:52 PM

Andrew Olmsted

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Comments

Good luck learning Arabic. I've heard it is tough.

When you do get a chance to blog again, I have a question maybe you can answer. As far as I can tell there is no other organization in the world with a two-headed command structure like the military (NCOs vs officers). Why do you think the military developed with that kind of a structure? What are the organizational challenges that led to that structure? Do you think it is still the optimal way to align the military or is it just the way things are done. I'm really curious about that.

Anyways, good luck with online training and learning Arabic. I'll start you off. Please translate the following sentence:

Allahu Akbar!

Posted by: Enrak [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 22, 2006 05:13 AM

Good luck with the Arabic... I took two years of it in middle school, but barely remember any of it. The entire first year was spend just learning the alphabet - the letters change depending on where they are in a word. And then there are all the different regional dialects. Not an easy language, but I'm sure that whatever you can learn between now and then will help.

Posted by: Heather [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 22, 2006 06:12 AM

Wow Heather! What middle school did you go to?

I couldn't even learn French. I would have no hope of learning Arabic.

Posted by: Enrak [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 22, 2006 06:29 AM

Andy,
Try Rosetta Stone. It's supposed to be one of the best language software programs out there, and it's free on ako.

Posted by: Don [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 22, 2006 07:36 AM

(I went to middle school in the Middle East. Taking Arabic made more sense than taking French...)

Posted by: Heather [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 22, 2006 09:36 AM

Andy,
For those of us who wish to help you out, make sure you post a mailing address when you arrive. I'm sure your loyal readers will want to send you cookies, cards, up-armor kits, etc.
David Corn

Posted by: bridgecross [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 22, 2006 10:17 AM

All the best, Andy.



I imagine with Arabic you're going to need mostly conversational skills and the ability to read signs - Pimsleur has worked well for me for French conversation and you can load the lessons onto an iPod or similar. For reading, I imagine there are good travel-related books out there that might cover a lot of what you'll need to be able to read.


Posted by: Karne [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 22, 2006 10:28 AM

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