The U.S. Air Force top brass wants to attract more recruits with a knowledge of a foreign language and is prepared to pay bonuses of $500 a month.
Lt. Col. Paul Valenzuela was quoted as saying by Air Force Times that bonuses could reach up to $1,000 a month if an employee speaks two or more languages.
The list of languages required is divided into three categories – important, necessary for potential crisis situations, and others.
Arabic and its dialects top the list. The category of the most important languages also consists of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Pashto, Urdu and Dari.
The second group consists of Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kazakh, Hebrew, Czech and Thai.
Chechen, Ukrainian, Belarusian and African languages are in the third category.
"We are talking about the human aspect of the mission. In order to be successful as the human aspect, being able to understand the culture and speak its language is vital." Valenzuela said.
He also said that while 4,300 servicemen currently get a foreign language bonus, the Air Force is hoping to triple this figure.
In order to get the bonus, a serviceman has to pass a special test which includes three parts: audio, reading and speaking.
