ALingP-01 linguistic support for operations

What it is

ALingP-01, Linguistic Support for Operations, is a NATO Allied Linguistics Publication promulgated in September 2011. It sets out how nations and NATO headquarters should plan, prepare and deliver translation and interpretation support for a NATO-led operation. It is doctrine written for the militaries themselves, not a management-system standard or a technical specification a commercial supplier builds a product against. Its own scope names its audience directly: it "applies to nations taking part in NATO-led operations and to NATO headquarters whenever and wherever such operations require linguistic support."

Nations agree to use the publication through STANAG 2579, and ratification came with reservations recorded against parts of the text. The United States objected that one annex "represents policy (vice doctrine)" and should be deleted; Spain treats a table of interpreter numbers as guidance only and "in no case binding"; Slovenia notes that its support depends on whether it takes part in a given operation. That pattern (a nation formally agreeing to the document while flagging specific reservations) is exactly how NATO doctrine of this kind acquires force: through ratification, not through a contract with a company.

What it covers, and at what level

The document's functional scope is translation of written material, interpretation of speech, and related tasks such as monitoring audio-visual and printed material, summarising, and gist translation. It explicitly covers support at two levels: personnel with "formal professional qualifications or higher level skills", and "more limited support provided by personnel with lower level skills". It is equally explicit about what it excludes: "Linguistic support does not include the delivery of language training for non-linguists."

Setting the policy before an operation starts

Before any operation, national command authorities and the NATO Command Structure must issue a policy covering which languages to support (noting, at clause 0202, that setting up training for a language not previously supported can take "up to four years" before the first students graduate), the generic structure needed, language requirements written into job descriptions using STANAG 6001 standard language profiles, and scaling guidelines so planners can estimate the personnel a given operation will need.

Sourcing, testing and training linguists

Personnel can be sourced from existing armed-forces or NATO civilian staff, recruited from NATO or coalition nations, recruited locally in the area of operations, or supplied through an outsourced contractor. Whichever route is used, "the ability or aptitude of such personnel to translate or interpret must be assessed by testing carried out by the functional capability management structure", and anyone not already professionally qualified must be trained in translation and/or interpretation. Training from a standing start is not a fast option: clause 0402 says reaching a moderate level of proficiency (STANAG 6001 SLP levels 2 or 3) takes "up to two years of intensive study". Before any of that training happens, personnel must first be "assessed for language learning aptitude and suitability for the linguist role". Once selected, training covers language proficiency itself, the specific linguistic functions (translation, interpretation, revision, terminology, terminology management, relevant software), the duties and ethics of linguists, cultural knowledge, and pre-deployment preparation.

Running a Linguistic Service once deployed

Overall control of a headquarters' or unit's linguists sits with one person, the Head Linguistic Service, who reports "directly to the Command Group rather than being placed within a particular Division" so that linguistic priorities are not buried inside a single branch. Interpretation is measured in "sittings" of up to three and a half hours, with a rest interval between them, and clause 0503 states interpreters "should not work for more than two sittings per day and seven sittings per week" or be left working alone for more than an hour at a stretch. A table in Annex F sets out the minimum interpreters needed by conference size: a six-language conference interpreted into all six languages needs 18 interpreters for a normal team, or 12 for a smaller "reduced" team, which the document warns places "additional stress on the interpreters and degrades their performance." Conference facilities for simultaneous interpretation are expected to meet ISO 2603, ISO 4043 or IEC 60914 wherever possible. Quality control runs internally: translation output is checked through revision and proofreading, and interpretation through "feedback from users and regular monitoring of interpreters' performance, followed by counselling."

Ethics

Linguists work under an explicit ethical code (Annex C) and "may be required to sign a written declaration" to abide by it. The core obligations are confidentiality regardless of a document's classification, competence (only accepting work within one's ability), impartiality, and disclosing any conflict of interest. The document is also candid about the limits of technology: hand-held interpretation devices "cannot be considered a substitute for language proficiency or the services of linguists."

What it does not cover

ALingP-01 does not describe a certification scheme for a linguist, a Linguistic Service, or a company, and it says nothing about the internal quality management system a contractor might otherwise be asked to hold. It leaves training-course design and national personnel administration to each nation. It does not set what applies to a given contract: what linguistic support is required, and to what standard, is a matter for the operation's own tasking and the contract that follows from it, not for this document read alone.

Standards it references

• STANAG 6001Background
• AJP-01Background
• AAP-16Background