Military Wife Confessions

Presidio of Monteray Official Site 

The Parks at Monteray Bay Community Housing

LOCATION

The Defense Language Institute is located on the Presidio of Monterey (POM), about eight miles from the Ord Military Community (OMC), where the majority of students and permanent party assigned to the Institute live in military housing on a portion of what used to be Fort Ord. Also located on the OMC are the commissary, post exchange, main chapel, the Youth Services Center, Army Community Service, AAFES gas station, the Thrift Shop, the library, a Child Development Center, a grammar school and a middle school.

THE MISSION OF THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE (DLI)

The Defense Language Institute provides resident foreign language instruction in support of national security requirements, supports and evaluates command language programs worldwide, conducts academic research into the language learning process, and administers a worldwide standard test and evaluation system.

The Institute provides quality foreign language training for members of the United States armed forces and other government agencies. The Institute's major goal is to ensure that graduates meet the requirements of the agencies assigning them to foreign language study. The institute must therefore provide instructional programs that are responsive to the foreign language needs of a wide variety of military positions throughout the world.

These programs must meet high standards so that students can develop functional language skills for professional use in real-world communications situations.

DLI recognizes the value of both education and training in providing language instruction. The school follows a systems approach to instruction, with the principal of job-relevant instruction central to curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation. Instruction is student-oriented so that effective learning can take place.

Languages cannot be learned well in a cultural vacuum. Language and culture are intricately intertwined. Therefore, at DLI, language skills are developed to incorporate the value systems, behavior patterns, institutions, geography, and political, economic, and social systems of the areas where the target language is spoken.

To provide the highest quality instruction, DLI supports a number of programs which assist DLI faculty and staff members to reach their full professional potential. The Institute also directs research into the development of computer-assisted language learning programs. DLI also manages some foreign language training which is offered by private contractors and the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute in Washington, DC.

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center coat of arms symbolizes the mission, goals and origins, of the organization. The upper portion of the escutcheon is blue, signifying the peacetime mission. The field is charged with a symbolic representation of the Rosetta Stone which gave scholars the first clues to the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone signifies language as the chief instrument for the attainment of understanding with other nations of the world.

The lower portion of the shield is red, representing the wartime mission of the school. This portion is charged with the helmet of the San Carlos Catalan Volunteers, Spanish troops attached to the expedition which founded the Presidio of Monterey in 1770. The helmet stands for the military aspect and rich historical character of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and the Presidio of Monterey.

An olive branch of green emblazons the bend of the shield. The branch is symbolic of the Institute's motto, Language Power for Peace. The crest of the shield is a gold torch, the traditional emblem of learning and knowledge.

HISTORY OF THE PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY

The military has played a role in the history of the Monterey Peninsula since 1770 when a small expedition led by captain Gaspar de Portola, officially took possession for Spain of what is now central California. In compliance with his orders "to erect a fort to occupy and defend the port (of Monterey) from the atrocities of the Russians, who were about to invade", his men immediately began construction of the Presidio.

Portola's actions were spurred by the Spanish fear that other nations - particularly Russia - had designs on her New World empire. Spain moved to occupy that portion of the western American coast which she had previously neglected. The port of Monterey, which had been visited and charted a century and a half before by the Spanish explorer, Sebastian Vizcaino, was ripe for colonization and military fortification.

Monterey became one of five presidios, or forts, built by Spain in what is now the western United States. Others were founded in San Diego, in 1769; San Francisco, in 1776; Santa Barbara, in 1782; and Tubae, Arizona in 1784.

The fortunes of the Presidio at Monterey rose and fell with the times: it has been moved, abandoned and reactivated time and time again. At least three times it has been submerged by the tide of history, only to appear years later with a new face, a new master, and a new mission - first under the Spanish, then the Mexicans, and ultimately the Americans.

American control of the area began in 1846 during the war with Mexico when Commodore John D. Sloat, commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Squadron, landed unopposed a small force in Monterey and claimed the territory and the Presidio for the United States. He left a small garrison of Marines who moved the location of the fort and began improving defenses to better protect the town and the harbor. The presidio was renamed Fort Mervine in honor of Captain William Mervine, who commanded one of the ships in Sloat's squadron.

The original Presidio consisted of a square of adobe buildings located in the vicinity of what is now downtown Monterey. The fort's original mission, the Royal Presidio Chapel, has remained in constant use since it was founded in 1770 by Father Junipero Serra who arrived with Portola's party. The only direct relationship between the original site and the present Presidio was an earthwork at the latter location which was armed with cannons on a hill overlooking Monterey's harbor.

The end of the Mexican War and the discovery of gold in California effectively put an end to any military presence in Monterey. In May 1848 the news of the gold discovery reached Monterey and many companies deserted for the gold fields. In 1865, at the closing months of the Civil War the old fort on the hill was returned to temporary life by the arrival of six officers and 156 enlisted men, but was abandoned in 1866.

In 1902, an Infantry Regiment arrived at Monterey whose mission was to construct a post to house an infantry regiment and a squadron of cavalry. Troops moved into the new wooden barracks, officially named Ord Barracks, in June 1903. However, in order to perpetuate the name of the old Spanish military installation that Portola had established 134 years earlier, the War Department redesignated the post as the Presidio of Monterey.

A school of musketry was located at the Presidio from 1904 to 1911, and a school for cooks and bakers from 1914 to 1917. In 1917, the Army purchased an additional 15,809 acres across the bay as a maneuver area. This new acquisition eventually was designated as Camp Ord in 1939 and became Fort Ord in 1940.

Between 1919 and 1940, the Presidio housed principally cavalry and field artillery units. However, the outbreak of World War II ended the days of horse cavalry, and troops left Monterey. In June 1946, the school was designated as the Army Language School and later renamed the Defense Language Institute in 1963.

HISTORY OF THE DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

In November 1941, the Army established a secret school on the Presidio of San Francisco to teach the Japanese language to American soldiers of Japanese descent (Nisei). West Coast hostility toward the Nisei during this period forced the Military Intelligence Service Language School to move inland to Minnesota in 1942.

In 1946 the school moved to the Presidio of Monterey. Renamed the Army Language School (ALS) during the Cold War, it expanded to more than 30 languages and recruited worldwide for teachers.

The services ran separate language programs until 1963, when the Defense Department consolidated them under a new Washington, DC headquarters, the Defense Language Institute (DLI). It had an East Coast Branch and a West Coast Branch, formerly ALS.

In the mid-1970s DoD consolidated DLI headquarters and all resident foreign language training for the services at the West Coast Branch, renamed the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.

DLIFLC gained academic accreditation in 1979. The Institute expanded in the 1980s. As the Institute increased instructor-to-student ratios, implemented team teaching and acquired information-age technology, average student proficiency steadily increased.

Operation Desert Storm and the end of the Cold War changed the language mix, but underscored DoD's continuing need for skilled military linguists.

FACULTY AND STAFF

Most civilian instructors coming to DLIFLC are native speakers of the languages they teach. Many are multilingual. They include prominent educators, musicians, and artists. Many hold advanced degrees.

DLIFLC implemented a new Faculty Personnel System in January, 1997, a progressive, merit-based personnel approach similar to a college personnel system.

The services send military linguists to DLIFLC as military language instructors. These noncommissioned officers and petty officers, about 10 percent to the faculty, are proficient in foreign languages and know the military language skills our students must achieve to be effective in their duty assignments.

In addition to more than 650 faculty and 300 civilian staff members, nearly 250 service members from all branches of the armed forces support the schools and the Presidio of Monterey.

RESIDENT PROGRAMS

DLIFLC provides modern classrooms, extensive language laboratory facilities and state-of-the-art audio-visual training aids.

Departments within the Institute's seven language schools are organized around the team-teaching concept. Each team contains a number of instructors who share teaching responsibilities for three sections of up to 10 students each.

Students receive intensive listening, reading, speaking and writing practice in functional language as educated native speakers use it, all to enable the military linguist to perform the specific tasks required in a diverse set of jobs. Each program is based on meaningful discourse grounded in real-world contexts rather than on rote memorization. Each language program teaches the history, culture and current events of the countries in which the language is spoken. Students learn to create with the languages they study.

DLIFLC language programs take from 26 to 63 weeks to complete, depending on language difficulty. Classroom instruction lasts at least six hours a day, five days a week, with tailored homework every evening.

The service units conduct physical fitness and other military training. In addition to basic language programs, we offer refresher/maintenance, intermediate, advanced and specialized programs. These provide training to higher language levels, as well as special terminology and combinations of functional skills required for particular duties.

Our programs provide a range of college credits, obtained either via transcripts issued by the DLIFLC Academic Records Division or credit-by-exam based on student Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) performance.

A partnership between DLIFLC and Monterey Peninsula College permits our students to earn associate's degrees in the foreign languages they study. MPC recognized credits earned at the Institute toward meeting major and general education requirements.

DLIFLC is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

NONRESIDENT PROGRAMS

DLIFLC provides foreign language assistance to the Department of Defense, other federal agencies worldwide, educational institutions and to private citizens and organizations.

The school furnishes instructional training materials and services and contingency support to units and service members to use throughout their linguistic careers. Materials include orientation programs, basic language programs, refresher/maintenance courses, professional development programs and special courses. Training services include mobile training teams, teacher training, management assistance visits, course development, Video Tele Training(VTT) and LingNet.

20,000 students annually are supported annual through Command Language Programs, education centers, the Army Correspondence Course Program, VTT, and LingNet BBS - the Linguist Network Computer Bulletin Board System.

LingNet BBS serves the needs of military linguists and government and public agencies. Anyone wanting foreign language information can access LingNet call toll-free, 1-888-DOD-LING. For more information call DSN 878-5685/5114 or commercial (831) 242-5685/5114.

U.S. ARMY 229th MILITARY INTELLIGENCE BATTALION

The mission of the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion is to support the academic mission of the Defense Language Institute, to execute common military training, to conduct TRADOC-directed soldierization, and to provide operational, security, administrative, and logistical support to assigned Army personnel. More than half of all the students at DLI y5g?@are assigned to the 229th. On average, 1400 Army soldiers study a language at any given time during the year. Combined with permanent party cadre, personnel strength exceeds 1600 soldiers in the Battalion. The 229th MI Battalion is one of the largest battalions in TRADOC. The Battalion is organized into an HHC and six student companies. All of the companies are responsible for the billeting, discipline, morale and welfare of their soldiers. Companies A, B, C, and F provide command, control, administration and supply support to assigned students and attached personnel grades E4 and below. They are responsible for the critical and high-profile, TRADOC mandated, soldierization program for Initial Entry Training (IET) soldiers.

Over 60 percent of the soldiers attending DLI are IET soldiers. The units work closely with the language schools to monitor student progress and implement additional language training programs. They provide Headstart, computer assisted studies (CAS), and both pre/post language training as required. Companies D and E provide command, administration, and supply support to assigned and attached career students. They conduct professional development training for junior grade officers. They coordinate with Area Studies to enhance Foreign Area Officer assignments, training and administrative support. HHC provides command, administration and supply support to permanent party personnel. In addition to language training and military skills training, the soldiers of the 229th MIB participate in a wide range of intramural athletics and community service activities.

THE MARINE CORPS DETACHMENT

The mission of the Marine Corps Detachment at the Defense Language Institute is: To conduct and support training in support of the Marine Corps training requirements, in accordance with standard inter service training directives and agreements; To furnish guidance on Marine Corps policy; To provide administrative control and assistance to all Marine Corps personnel at the Defense Language Institute and Naval Postgraduate School; To ensure that all matters pertaining to the Marine Corps and its personnel are considered by the Defense Language Institute.

THE AIR FORCE 311th TRAINING SQUADRON

The mission of the 311th Training Squadron is: To prepare Air Force students at the Defense Language Institute for academic and follow-on military training success; To provide students with an Air Force orientation, motivation, and physical training; To augment DLI language training with remedial and supplemental student assistance as required; To provide a controlled military environment, enhancing student leadership, development, discipline and morale.

THE NAVAL TECHNICAL TRAINING CENTER DETACHMENT

The mission of the Naval Technical Training Center Detachment at the Defense Language Institute is: Act as advocate and supporter for all Navy personnel attending language training at the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center; To help prepare the new Sailor for duty as a Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive). Our primary customer is the individual Navy person attending language training. Our secondary customers are the many duty stations receiving the Navy's newest linguists. We are an essential member of the team preparing the new Navy linguist. We must strive to produce a learning environment and comfortable home where our customer will thrive. Our customer must leave our charge confident in his or her abilities as a Sailor, a linguist, and a developing leader. Our customer's success is the best measure of our success. Our customer should leave Monterey feeling good about his or her experience; personally, academically, and militarily. If so, we should understand why; if not, we should understand why not.

via Military.com

Looks like no one's commented here yet, so as someone who's currently stationed here, I thought I'd give a rundown of the place. The Presidio is primarily a training command. The Defense Language Institute is the main reason people are stationed here; as such, most of the people are directly out of basic training, so there aren't very many families here. It is also an all-branch base, so what few families ARE here are from all four branches. And as the military likes to do branch-specific family things, there aren't enough people for any family groups. So there's not a whole lot of support here. Add to that, the housing community and Commissary are 30 minutes away from the Presidio, at old Fort Ord. That's 30 minutes by car.

My husband and I currently live in Pacific Grove, 5 blocks away from the Presidio, so it's an easy walk to work for him. The area is quite beautiful, and the people are pretty nice. It's a pretty laid-back area with very low crime, unless you get out to Salinas, about 35 miles away, where there's a lot of gang violence. If you stay in Monterey/Pacific Grove, however, it's pretty nice. The Monterey Bay Aquarium and 17 Mile Drive are must-see destinations while you're here. Cannery Row has some decent shopping, but it's mostly tourist stuff. There's several free museums that are fun to take kids too, or just go yourself. (The Maritime Museum, the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, a few others.)

If you're stationed here, you're probably here for a year; the time depends on the language being studied, but if it's long enough for the family to be moved, it's probably Arabic, which takes a year. The studies are hard, expect your servicemember to be doing a lot of homework, and often either tutoring or being tutored on base.

The weather here is pretty nice, it stays right around 60 and clear skies pretty much every day of the year. (We were sleeping with our windows open last December - bizarre!) Pacific Grove, being on the ocean side of the peninsula, stays cooler than Monterey.

If anyone has any questions about the base, feel free to e-mail me. We've been here just over a year, and we'll be here until August 2009. We don't have kids, so I'm afraid I can't answer any questions about schools.

OH And DON'T MISS the Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove. From November to February, thousands of Monarch Butterflies hang out in a small grove of trees. It's ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE to see. It's free, as well. Park down a little driveway and walk down a path to the sanctuary. It's amazing.

I've lived there as a civilian.  I should add Marina is also a nice place. I've heard it has its bad areas like anywhere (the bad areas are nothing compared to Salinas, as crystallinegirl mentioned), but I always felt safe there.  The bus system isn't that extensive, if you are used to very accessible bus transportation, but I've used it a bit: the buses are relatively clean and it doesn't have a really creepy vibe or anything. 

There are a lot of hidden gems.  Fisherman's Wharf is fun even if you're not a tourist. It's fun to taste all the different clam chowder samples and then go inside and order your favorite in a bread bowl.

Bahn Thai/Barn Thai is a good Thai restaurant in Seaside (they keep changing the name for some reason).

La Tortuga in Seaside has great Oaxacan style Mexican food.  The Monterey Bay is very racially diverse, with a few exceptions.  Seaside has a large enough Mexican population to have bakeries with pan dulce (sweet bread), lots of Mexican restaurants, etc.  There is a shopping center with a Borders, Target, Costco, etc. Lots of mainstream type stores around the county. 

If you're a fast driver, you might get frustrated - there are a lot of older or laid-back drivers along sometimes windy/scenic roads.  I'm fine with it, but definitely not like SoCal or anything.

The beaches are cold but pretty.  Sometimes you can see the fireworks over the bay from a beach in Marina or Seaside, if it's not too foggy (which is usually is in the summer).

Public schools are not really bad, but it depends heavily on your teachers, which classes you take, whether you take advanced classes, the social environment of the school, etc. There are some private schools, like Palma and Notre Dame (single-sex Catholic schools), Robert Louis Stevenson (very swank, and expensive), and York (also very .. swank?) I don't know what the schools are like today, because I went a long time ago, but you some very dedicated, awesome teachers and admins, and sometimes ones that are a little kooky. 

I hear they are developing some nice military housing but I don't know details. The Marina/Fort Ord area tends to have a lot of military families. I've been to a few, and they seemed okay, but was only there briefly.

The area is vey expensive compared to other parts of the country or even state. But you pay for the clean air, the clean ocean, the sometimes walking distance to the beach, the year-round moderate climate, stuff to do, etc. There are usually festivals in the summer on several weekends, like Turkish, Greek, Santa Rosalia (Italian), etc. There used to be a lot of Sicilian fisherman there, I believe. You can get fried calamari, etc. And they have a bocce court in the plaza downtown.

There is a nice downtown area, Alvarado Street, which hosts a farmer's market (last I checked) with a baked good aisle, jewelry, several types of ethnic foods, the usual fresh produce, etc. The street used to be popular with Goths on Saturday nights.  A few clubs are there, but I've heard it can be hard for new, young people to make friends. A lot of people in the area grew up knowing each other or are still there, or have moved to other towns. Might be more senior citizens than average. It's a relatively politically liberal area.  People sometimes go to San Jose (an hour away) or San Francisco (2 hours away) to go to a bigger mall, shop for big items, etc.