LEAP application window opens

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. — The Language Enabled Airman Program is accepting active-duty officer and enlisted applications until Aug. 22. Those intending to submit applications must register their intent to apply by Aug. 8. Officer candidate students in their senior years may also apply.

LEAP is a career-spanning program to identify, develop and sustain Airmen’s foreign language and cultural capabilities. Managed by the Air Force Culture and Language Center, the program seeks to develop cross-culturally competent leaders who can meet Air Force global mission requirements, said Lt. Col. Julie Solberg, AFCLC’s acting director and the language division chief.

LEAP is designed for those active-duty Airmen who already have some existing language capability and a track record for pursuing proficiency in a language. The program targets early career Airmen most likely to take fullest advantage of language learning, maintenance and assignments. Selection to LEAP does not require leaving one’s assigned Air Force specialty code job.

Participants in LEAP are required to complete online training, as well as to attend periodic temporary duty assignments to enhance their language skills. These assignments, called Language Intensive Training Events, take place every three to four years, generally last between four and six weeks and are held at language schools in the United States or in countries where the participants’ languages are spoken. Successful completion of program requirements will result in the participant being eligible for the LEAP Special Experience Identifier.

Detailed eligibility requirements and application instructions are available on the Air Force Culture and Language Center’s website at http://culture.af.mil/leap/index.aspx.

The AFCLC is also hosting a Facebook chat at 1 p.m. (CDT) Thursday on the AFCLC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/airforcecultureandlanguagecenter to answer questions related to applying for LEAP.