The Defense Language Office was an office within the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. It was officially established in May 2005 under the Office of the

Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness The under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, or USD (P&R) is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the United States Department of Defense responsible for advising the secretary an ...

to ensure a strategic focus on language and regional expertise among Defense Department military and civilian workers.” It was created by the Fiscal Year 2005

National Defense Authorization Act The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...

, which accompanied the House Report 108-491, "to provide oversight and execution of the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap." According to the report, the Defense Language Office was set to "ensure a strategic focus on meeting present and future requirements for language and regional expertise among military personnel and civilian employees of the Department. This office should establish and oversee policy regarding the development, management, and utilization of civilian employees as well as members of the armed forces; monitor the promotion, accession and retention of individuals with these critical skills; explore innovative concepts to expand capabilities; and establish policies to identify, track, and maximize the use to meet requirements for language and regional expertise." On February 6, 2012, the Defense Language Office and

National Security Education Program The National Security Education Program (NSEP) was a U.S. federal government initiative to enhance the national security of the U.S. by increasing the national capacity to understand and interact effectively with foreign cultures and languages. NSE ...

were merged to form the Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO), which consolidates cultural, linguistic, and regional foreign studies education efforts into a single program capable of satisfying national and Department-wide requirements.

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See also