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Arabic translator’s career coming full circle

  • Published
  • By Sue Campbell
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Ali Aziz Resan's career as an Arabic translator for the U.S. government is coming full circle.

In 2004 Mr. Resan was living in Nasiriyah, Iraq, a city near Tallil Air Base, when he was hired as an Arabic translator for the U.S. Air Force hospital there. He was the first known Iraqi national to serve in this capacity.

"He was a member of the latrine crew that cleaned the hospital bathrooms," said George Brandon, clinical nurse in the 59th Medical Inpatient Squadron who was an Air Force captain deployed to Tallil at the time. "I heard him speaking English very well. I knew we needed a linguist, so I urged him to take the job."

Mr. Resan worked as a contractor for one year, serving as a translator and instructor on Arabic language and customs.

"I translated for Iraqi patients and gave the medical staff tips on how to treat them," said Mr. Resan.

Mr. Resan also helped the American medical staff understand the Arabic culture.

"The amount of information he gave us was invaluable. He actually had me reading, writing and speaking Arabic within two months. It helped tremendously," said Staff Sgt. Robert Ayala, a neurology technician in the 59th Medical Operations Squadron, who was deployed to Tallil. "As a military member, you are often not at ease in a foreign country. But, when you start picking up things about your location and its people, it allows you to perform your job better."

Additionally, Mr. Resan served as a liaison with the on-base military medical staff and medical personnel in town.

"I loved that job," said Mr. Resan. "It let me bring two worlds together and help them understand each other. It was fun and I felt very useful."

But, his work at Tallil was not always fun. During a time when critical information needed to be transferred, he risked his life to deliver U.S. military communications to officials and hospitals in nearby towns.

"His life was definitely in danger on many occasions," said Mr. Brandon. "Insurgents in the area would have killed him if they found out he was working for us."

He continued working for the Department of Defense from 2004 to 2008 at Tallil and is now a permanent resident of the United States through a program for translators who served the U.S. government for more than two years.

He will soon become a member of the Texas National Guard and is working to obtain his U.S. citizenship. His ultimate goal is to become an instructor at the Defense Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

"His life is coming full circle," said Mr. Brandon. "He started out working for us as a contractor and will probably end up in Iraq again, one day soon, as an official U.S. military member."