Foreign student office helps inside, outside class

Published June 1, 2011
By Steve Hoffmann
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AFB, Miss. -- To the International Military Student Office, the sun doesn't rise and set on classroom
training when it receives students from around the world. It takes care of student needs inside the classroom and out.

James Cooks heads the operations at the IMSO office at Keesler. A former Army electronics trainer, he's been here since 1991. When students arrive at the airport, he and his staff are on the job the moment the wheels hit the ground.

Mr. Cooks makes sure someone is at the airport to greet the student when they arrive, even on weekends.

"It makes a huge impression," said Mr. Cooks. "Students are nervous when they get here. They don't know what to expect. So when someone is there to greet them, it really helps to calm their fears. We don't think anything of it, but it's often the thing students remember most when they look back on their training experience."

The IMSO office takes care of all the inprocessing of the student, helps with hotel reservations, apartment rentals and setting up pay vouchers. If a student has children, the staff helps with getting that child in school. Students are here anywhere from five weeks to 11 months. And for issues and problems that arise for a person living in a foreign country for that long, the IMSO office is there to help.

When a foreign military acquires weapons systems from the U. S., it needs to have someone trained to know how to use it. The Air Force Security Assistance Training Program works with the IMSO office and course training managers to secure a training slot.

Currently Keesler is hosting students from more than 20 different countries. According to Mr. Cooks, most of the students have a good grasp of the English language, but some don't. Therefore, every student must pass an English language test from the Defense
Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. If they pass, they are cleared
for training. If they don't pass, students may be eligible to retest or they get sent back home.

But beyond the classroom and the requirement to be able to understand what the instructors are saying, the IMSO office helps students learn the language of American
culture.

"TV teaches these students that all Americans are impatient, arrogant and we all have money," said Mr. Cooks. In an effort to dispel some of these false impressions, the IMSO office regularly takes trips to destinations such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La., and other regional cultural hot spots to give students a glimpse of what the real America looks like. Under the Department of Defense Field Studies Program, students are exposed to social, cultural and historical points of interest in an effort to give them a better understand of American society, institutions, system of government and way of life.

"They are often shocked to see that we actually do have poor people and dilapidated buildings," said Mr. Cooks. "But for the most part, they leave with a much greater appreciation of America and its people."

Recently, the students were treated to a mixer with squadron and unit commanders where they were able to mingle and talk about issues related to life at Keesler. Other extracurricular events such as picnics in the park, area outings and base events help keep students from feeling isolated and holed up in their dorms.

According to Mr. Cooks, international students are very pleased with the training they receive at Keesler. Although geared toward U.S. military service members, they are
able to take the concepts they learn back to their country and apply it to their own way
of doing things.

"We just want to make sure they learn what they need to learn," said Mr. Cooks. "Not only do we want them to learn a lot in the classroom, we want them to learn a lot about America."