COLUMBIA, S.C. – Three men, battle-seasoned Army officers but dressed in civilian clothes, watch as their tutor writes Arabic script across the board.

“You want to say ‘Turn left,”‘ says Phillip Herlein. All three men reply: “Liff yasaar. Liff yasaar. Liff yasaar.”

The officers – on track to lead troops again, most likely in the Middle East – are part of a pilot program that is sending 21 Army officers to graduate school to learn about foreign cultures, business practices and languages, such as Arabic.

The Army wants its leaders armed with solid skills to help them navigate road signs, engineering plans and simple conversations.

“We’re trying to develop officers to be strategic thinkers and creative managers … who are culturally aware and have some language capability,” says Col. Mark Patterson, who’s in charge of policy for developing the Army officer corps.

The Army’s experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq have shown it needs people who are able to work in foreign languages and cultures as well as be combat-oriented, said one of the students, Maj. David Hibner.

Previously, it was common for the service to pass over officers with international specialties and instead promote on the basis of combat experience, Hibner said.