HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- A civil servant at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School here is one of the Air Force’s most effective individuals in building, sustaining, expanding and guiding international relationships.
Grisel Mundo-Love, USAFSOS Language and Culture Center director, won the 2014 Air Force International Affairs Excellence Award, officials recently announced.
Mundo-Love’s work allows Air Force Special Operations Command to forge ties with international partners, according to Lt. Col. Dan Roesch, USAFSOS commandant, who submitted her for the award.
“Grisel has the ability to bring multiple cultures together to better understand the AFSOC mission,” Roesch said. “Without her quiet professionalism, Airmen would not be able to effectively produce the strategic results with partner nations on a daily basis.”
Mundo-Love, who is fluent in Spanish, coordinates with embassies worldwide to support the school’s international students and visitors. She also works with Airmen and civilians in the local area, giving them an opportunity to learn a foreign language.
“My favorite aspect of my job is seeing a student progress from no language capability to speaking fluently at the end of their training,” she said.
Mundo-Love was surprised and honored to win the award, but said she couldn’t have done it without her award-winning team. They won the Special Operations Command Institutional Language Program of the Year award in 2012 and 2014.
“The faculty and staff here work hard every day to provide the training and tools our students need to succeed,” she said. “This year wasn’t an exception.”
Below is a look behind the numbers at the USAFSOS Language and Culture Center in 2014.
392 students graduated
300+ language-related tests administered
140 high school students briefed on language-studying benefits
100+ documents translated vital to partner nation cohesion
50+ air advisors qualified
37 language acquisition programs offered
33 international students attended
18 foreign countries represented
7 foreign-born Airmen groomed into skilled advisors
“These accomplishments were the result of a group effort,” Mundo-Love said. “Whether they are teaching a class, providing resources, fixing a computer, providing testing support, greeting our visitors at the front desk or airport, or lending audio-visual support, the team’s dedication to the mission and our service members is evident, and I enormously appreciate them.”