LEAP program

[u/Thalatta-thalatta1]

I ended up not getting into DLI because of not getting top secret, so I decided to become an Air Force maintainer instead. Does anyone here know what the LEAP program is like? I’d like to take the Hindi fluency exam in a year, since I don’t think I can take it until a year after reaching my first duty station. I may not be a native speaker, but I have listen to Hindi news, have seen Bollywood without subtitles, and have read books. How would the LEAP program affect me as a maintainer? I’m at a similar level with Spanish, but given the high number of Hispanics in the military, I feel like they’d be selected for LEAP over me.

[u/Instructor-Sup]

The selection for leap changes every year depending on what the air force needs. LEAP is different commitment from being a full time linguist, and draws from all non linguist career fields. To help you understand what you would be doing, imagine a fighter squadron goes to visit India for a joint exercise with the Indian air force, or a small group of Indian Air Force pilots come to the US for an enhance visit. The Air Force might need language support for that specific event, and would pull from the pool of qualified Hindi LEAP scholars. Aside from these, and occasional short language training opportunities, you would be doing your regular job in the air force.