Story and Photos by Staff Sgt. Ian Tracy
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The 8th annual Best Linguist Competition (BLING), hosted by the Utah National Guard’s 300th Military Intelligence Brigade, brings together military branches and government agencies to a shared stage for a dynamic linguist scenario. Participants go through various aspects of military intelligence disciplines and hone their linguistic skills in both peace and war. This skill set will determine the effectiveness of the teams competing on this stage. There is more to this than just the event.
“Planning BLING is like writing a play,” explained Sgt. Kelen Wright, Lead BLING Developer with the 141st Military Intelligence Brigade. “You create the story, then develop the situations, and once that’s done, you need to convince the competitors to play their part.”
As Shakespeare wrote, “all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” This holds true in the military intelligence world. At a moment’s notice, military linguists can be deployed and mobilized to any theater in the world. These professionals may not be performing in the London Globe theatre, but they will find themselves operating in various operational theaters across the globe.
Once the story is approved, members of the 300th Military Intelligence Brigade translate it into seven languages, which the competitors will be tested on: Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. Once the translations are vetted, the stage is set, and the curtain can rise.
After a brief roll call and sign-in, teams sit down for the scenario brief. Once complete, teams gear up and depart for the competition. The environment is busy, canvas tents lined with intelligence challenges set the stage. Compromised aircraft with riddles of enemy activity left to be solved. The entire scene is a bustling military installation.
“Being on a base definitely helps with the ambiance,” said Will Freedman, a Utah Valley University student competitor. “It gets you in the headspace of an intel collector.”
Stations were set up for competitors to listen, read, analyze, and assess data in real time. No lines, no script, just their knowledge and improvisation skills in a tightly timed event. Once complete, teams compiled their findings and briefed their command. They were graded on information accuracy in their reports.
Immersive training events like this one trade rehearsals for readiness. Extended study time turns into action and allows linguists to demonstrate their language proficiency. Over the course of the competition, teams build unity and rely on each other to accomplish their mission. Focusing on their mastery of foreign language skills and immersing themselves in the culture of those who speak that language is how these competitors prove themselves.
“Linguists operate inside contested environments alongside military operations,” said Sgt. Matthew Christensen, a BLING developer assigned to the 141st Military Intelligence Brigade. “We stress-test precision under high pressure, in unfair conditions, because that’s what we expect when we fight.”
As the event came to a close, Wright challenged the competitors and observers to reflect on a new variable: the omnipresence of artificial intelligence technology. This relatively new phenomenon can only be as reliable when the power supply is abundant. The need for linguists is ever-growing, and their proficiency and knowledge are what will be relied upon when the grids go down and light turns to darkness. As the battlefield adjusts, the need for communication proves essential. It will be through linguistic superiority that we determine our next victory.
