Military Tries Out the 'Phraselator'

It does sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but it's apparently true. Facing a severe shortage of Arabic translators, the U.S. military has sent troops into the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan with the 'Phraselator,' which the Washington Post describes as "a hand-held device that promise[S] to digest . . . English phrases and produce a prerecorded Arabic translation with an Iraqi accent."

It doesn't seem to be working quite so well, though.

Of course, the military could rely on good, old-fashioned manpower, if it didn't insist on firing its gay translators simply because of their sexual orientation.

Bleu Copas is just one of dozens of gay Arabic speakers who have been booted under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." These men and women were trained, fluent in the language, and ready to serve.

What's the consequence of their discharge? As the Post says in its coverage of the Phraselator, "The stakes are high for the military, which suffers from such a shortage of interpreters that it has had to rely increasingly on contractors -- 6,500 in Iraq and 1,500 in Afghanistan."

Our country could rely on the expertise and training of people like Sergeant Copas, too, if only Congress would take the lead and repeal the ban.

- Steve Ralls