By Patrick Bray
DLIFLC Public Affairs
Retired U.S. Army Col. Dino Pick (left), former commandant of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and now the deputy city manager for plans and public works for the City of Monterey, visited the Presidio of Monterey, California, Sept. 10. (Photo by Patrick Bray, DLIFLC Public Affairs)
MONTEREY, Calif. – Retired U.S. Army Col. Dino Pick, former commandant of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and now the deputy city manager for plans and public works for the City of Monterey, visited the Presidio of Monterey, California, Sept. 10.
Pick, along with three other city officials who had not visited the installation prior, got an up-close look at how the Presidio operates and the language teaching mission that takes place.
The officials received a briefing from DLIFLC Chief of Staff, Steven Collins, and visited the Persian Farsi School where they were given a classroom demonstration by students in Farsi.
“What you do is amazing,” said Pick as he spoke to the students in Farsi which he studied in college. While attending DLIFLC in the mid-1990s, Pick studied Arabic.
The officials then observed Persian Farsi students cooking at the Weckerling Center and even got a taste of Persian food. Aside from teaching the language, instructors also teach culture, history and geography of their native lands.
Col. Paul Fellinger, Presidio of Monterey garrison commander, briefs city officials from the City of Monterey, during their visit to the Presidio of Monterey, California, Sept. 10. (Photo by Patrick Bray, DLIFLC Public Affairs)
Col. Paul Fellinger, Presidio of Monterey garrison commander, briefed the officials on the “Monterey Model,” a model of efficiency for the Department of Defense, saving the government more than $1.5 million over the past five years by partnering with the city for services and public works.
The city officials also toured the nearby Naval Postgraduate School as part of Monterey’s goal of gaining a better understanding of local military installations and their missions.
