News

Robins med tech words, actions impactful a world away

  • Published
  • By Jenny Gordon
  • Robins Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Attention to details, an inquisitive mind and commitment to duty and country - these are just a few words to describe Staff Sgt. Aliaksei Krasouski, a 78th Aerospace Medical Services technician at Robins.

After he saw information online about the Air Force Culture and Language Center's Language Enabled Airman Program, Krasouski felt he had much to contribute not only to an Air Force he serves, but a country that borders his native land of Belarus.

The Air Force selected him for LEAP, and as a fluent Ukrainian speaker, Krasouski was able to quickly meet standards in his selected language.

This past November, the AFCLC selected him to participate in a Language Intensive Training Event to the Ukraine, where he was connected with U.S. Security Cooperation officers. In April, he travelled to the Ukraine where he spent two months. 

Due to his fluency in the Ukrainian and Russian languages, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation in Kyiv. 

Most notably, he translated documents into Ukrainian from English for the U.S.-Ukraine Joint Commission Medical Subcommittee of U.S. European Command, was involved in preparations for a EUCOM patients medical assessment visit, and served as a Russian/Ukrainian/ English interpreter who communicated patient diagnoses and conversations across three cities as part of a medical team. Helping with these patient assessments in the field was something he'll never forget.   

As an Air Force medical technician, the medical team he was a part of evaluated over 25 severely-wounded service members who had suffered injuries due to grenade, mine and bomb blasts, gun shots and frostbite.                

"With my medical background, I was able to visit medical treatment facilities in the Ukraine and assess situations," said Krasouski. "I was also translating, attending medical conferences, and had an opportunity to work in the Ukrainian Parliament."    

"Working with the ODC in Kyiv helping the Ukraine build up its military and medical capabilities, every day there was something different," he said.    

A native of Minsk, Belarus, Krasouski was 25 when he immigrated to the United States. While in Belarus, he had graduated with a master's degree in sports medicine and recreation, working as a coach before arriving in New York City.    

He joined the Air Force in 2009 looking for more educational opportunities. After serving at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle, he arrived at Robins where he's the current NCOIC of the Medical Standards Management Element in Flight Medicine.    

He has since completed a degree through the Community College of the Air Force. And on the family front, he works just a few steps away from his wife, Staff Sgt. Patrice Neath, NCOIC of Women's Health. The couple is expecting their second child.   

Belarus, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, is bounded by Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and the Ukraine to its south.   

Growing up in Belarus, Krasouski spoke the native language of Belarusian. Like nearby Ukraine, Russian is also still widely spoken in a country that was once part of the former Soviet Union.    

Krasouski is fluent in several languages, including Russian and Polish, part of a group of Slavic languages that are closely related to one another. Belarusian is close to the Ukrainian language, so learning it was a smooth transition.  

"It was not difficult for me to understand both growing up, especially hearing family conversations spoken in Ukrainian," he said.    

Among his translation efforts in Ukraine, Krasouski participated in a NATO-organized Medical Rehabilitation Conference, helping translate the EUCOM speaker's presentation into Ukrainian and assisting with language interpretations during breaks.    

He also supported multiple other meetings and conferences, translating Expeditionary Medical Support information into Ukrainian, and serving as an interpreter for Public Affairs elements from throughout U.S. European Command which were visiting a military hospital in Kyiv. He was also honored to attend Parliament hearings, addressing Ukraine's military-medical doctrine.   

He hopes to continue giving back as a language-enabled airman and perform unique missions, which allow him to travel and contribute where needed.    

"I have enjoyed the camaraderie I've found in the Air Force," he said. "It has given me a lot of opportunities I never thought I would have in my life."

Want to know more?
To apply or learn more about the Language Enabled Airman Program, visit http://culture.af.mil/leap