By
PTE John Wellfare
Sailors
on patrol boats will soon be learning Indonesian as part of a
trial aiming to increase the effectiveness of boarding operations
in Australia’s northern waters.
The trial, to be conducted over a one-year period, will test several
different methods of teaching and gauge the overall value of crew
members having basic language skills.
LEUT Jim Zeiher from Patrol Boat Headquarters said the trial would
begin soon and aim to teach sailors enough of the language to
give them a greater ability to communicate during boarding operations.
“It’s an idea, it will be trailed and we might trial
it with some different methods,” he said.
“Someone might come up and work with one boat and a crew
and the next course might be working with a range of people and
doing it ashore.”
LEUT Zeiher said the concept had developed from an idea formulated
between a linguist and the CO of a patrol boat, who spoke Indonesian.
