It's not just the speaking ability of the interpreters that's vital to the mission here. It's important to be aware of the relationship that an interpreter can foster if he or she does the job correctly. Bohannon and Cyr work closely with Sandrine Carrerot, a local native who is the full-time interpreter and provides the continuity for the shop when the military linguists swap out every three months. Because of their intimate knowledge of operations, Bohannon and Cyr handle the majority of the mission-related coordination with the French air force while Carrerot interacts mostly with local vendors. But it's more than just military mission for these three.
Phone calls to make travel arrangements pop up during the course of their days.
Along with making train and hotel reservations for people going on sightseeing trips, they work closely with the three Services employees assigned here. Albert Watkins, who is deployed from Beale AFB, Calif., as the chief of Services for the 16th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron here. They go along with us to stores when we have to buy equipment, and they help me with my bills at the end of the month when I have to pay the 13 or more hotels where our people stay. Everyone deployed here benefits from their language skills. If they're sent here, it means their French is good enough to do the job, and they do it perfectly.