MONTEREY, Calif. -- If there is one lesson in particular that Master Sgt. Mike Gabino has taken from his service in the Army, it is that you can learn anything if you have the right instructor. That is why he strives to be the "right instructor" to his Soldiers as he gives back what the Army has given to him: opportunity.
Gabino is fluent in Spanish and has served in the Army since 1993. He is the noncommissioned officer in charge of undergraduate education at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, California. The center is regarded as one of the finest schools for foreign language instruction in the nation. All basic foreign language teaching at the institute takes place at the undergraduate education level.
"Part of being an NCO is to be a teacher able to coach, mentor and develop others," said Gabino, which is standard throughout the Army, but at DLIFLC, the stakes are higher.
The language school places enormous pressure on students from across the armed services -- Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force -- to gain proficiency in a new language in a limited amount of time. On top of their day-to-day requirements as a service member, students must spend up to seven hours a day in class, followed by three hours or more of homework each night and even more studying on the weekends. Depending on the language the student is learning, this routine can last six months to a year and a half.
Gabino meets regularly with the institute's military language instructors, or MLI, qualified NCOs who teach students in their language and serve as an example to them. MLIs bridge the gap between the military units and the civilian staff in all eight schools and languages taught at DLIFLC.
Q&A TIME
Q: How has your experience helped you in your current position here?
A: I use a lot of my experience as a student in the military to mentor the MLIs. Experience is the foundation of what I became, and it taught me what "right" looks like.
Q: If you had a student who felt like he or she wanted to quit, what would you say to that student?
A: For students who may be struggling, I tell them you're never out until you're out. Don't ever quit on yourself, but let the process run its course. Don't jump the gun and make that decision to quit.
Q: With the all the pressure that students must face, is it possible for them to study too much?
A: I fully understanding the push to succeed, but part of the learning process is knowing when to take a break and go out and decompress.
Q: What programs have you initiated to help students take their minds off class for a while?
A: One such program is a module-based, mixed martial arts class that includes Jujitsu, Judo and Taekwondo. I worked with the institute's leadership to set up the program so that it would not interfere with language class times and that a mixed martial arts class would be available if a student wanted to take it. Not only are they learning a new skill but they're forgetting about class for a little while. They're decompressing. Creating a balance is part of the learning cycle.
Q: What about students who prefer to decompress in other ways?
A: We've got people that are physical so they like to do physical stuff, but we've also got people that are more open to being mentally stimulated. So we incorporated the student learning center to be open seven days a week so they can use it and its resources as they see fit. The student learning center allows students to study in a more relaxed atmosphere than the library or classrooms and does not necessarily have to be used for only language study. Students can spend time there reading, get tutoring, attend workshops and watch foreign language movies.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add about the students?
A: I think it's important to give back. Our students go through a lot. We have some of the best students that we could ask for in the military, regardless of service.
Q: When you are not at work, how do you spend your free time?
A: I enjoy my three favorite hobbies: watching movies, dancing and enjoying restaurants with my family. My kids take flight lessons, and occasionally we go scuba diving or whitewater rafting and skydiving together.
Q: Do you do any volunteer work in the community?
A: I volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club of Monterey County. In August, I gave a speech to the club. I told the kids that it doesn't matter where you come from; you can make it.
Q: Where are you from, and how did you come to join the Army?
A: I am from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and I joined the Army Reserve as an orthopedic technician in 1993 to pay for college. At the time, I only knew Spanish. So the Army sent me to the Defense Language Institute English Language Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Q: When did you go on active duty?
A: In 1997, I went on active duty, switching jobs to become a cryptologic linguist. Then the Army sent me to study Russian at DLIFLC in Monterey, but unfortunately I wasn't able to finish.
Q: Why was that?
A: One night I went out late to buy baby formula when I was hit by a drunk driver. I was medically dropped from the Russian course. After a long recovery, I was given the option to return to Russian studies, but I would have to start from day one. At that point, I had been at DLI for almost two years. So I asked them to reclassify me as a Spanish linguist. I took the Defense Language Proficiency Test and qualified as a linguist.
Q: But everything worked out well for you, because look where you are today. What other opportunities did you pursue after that?
A: I earned a master of arts in administration with a concentration in leadership from Central Michigan University, and I worked toward a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. That hunger for education came from the Army. That's when I became really passionate about learning new skills and teaching those skills to others.
Q: So, can you really learn anything from the right instructor?
A: I used to be bad at drawing. Bad at drawing. Well, guess what? In one day, with the right instructor, she taught me how to draw. I never knew I could draw!
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Gabino has been at DLIFLC since 2015. He has also served as the interim garrison command sergeant major for the Presidio of Monterey for more than 60 days during summer 2016.
This year, DLIFLC celebrates its 75th anniversary. The institute provides resident instruction in 23 languages at the Presidio of Monterey, California, with the capacity to instruct another 65 languages in Washington, D.C., graduating more than 220,000 linguists since 1941.
In addition, multiple language training detachments exist at sites in the continental U.S., Europe, Hawaii and Korea, spanning all the U.S. geographic combatant commands, in support of the total force.
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