Language Day a big hit at the Presidio

One day a year, our local military base opens it’s doors to the public for a fun and educational event; the Defense Language Institute’s annual Language Day!

Language Day is held on the Presidio’s Soldier Field and features foreign language education, ethnic food, and cultural traditions. The Defense Language Institute compares it to an annual air show put on at Air Force bases. Several dances and visual displays from around the world were presented to the thousand-plus locals and tourists who showed up. The event also gives a day of rest to the 2,500 military linguists enlisted at the Presidio.

“This is a high-stress environment for our students and for our faculty, cause the stakes are high in terms of getting the mission done which is learning those languages, and we get to see them in a more relaxed environment showing off what they’ve learned,” said US Air Force Colonel Wiley Barnes.

The Defense Language Institute teaches 17 different languages by mainly native-speaking faculty who come from more than 90 countries. Students eventually are able to enhance the national security of the USA by translating for other military personnel all over the world and here in the states.

The beautiful military base used to be open to the public year-round up until 9-11. After that, it was decided that security was too much of a risk. But that wasn’t the case Friday as the base was flooded by civilians, all there to learn and have a great time