[Philistone]

Two problems:

1) Lack of native born foreign speakers. Thank the modern public skool system and its emphasis on “self-esteem” rather than knowledge;

2) Backlog in DSS and DISCO - up to two years in some cases - leading to an increase in “provisional” “S” and “TS” clearances.

[thinking]

When I was in the military many years ago....the Sergeant walked out of his office, and announced to assembled “masses” who wants to go Russian Language school....

[expatguy]

I suppose what I was saying in a roundabout way was that often times "native born foreign speakers" are overrated.

Think about it... ideally the best translator would be someone who has a native fluency in two languages which is in my opinion impossible. You can get close, but never 100% ... and so which side is more important?

Not only does one need to completely comprehend the target language, but they then need to then translate what they comprehend and understand into English. That process requires the knowledge of BOTH languages, not just one.

So what do you accept, one that is 100% foreign language and 80% American English or do you accept 100% American English and 80% foreign language?