Ironing out linguistic, cultural and stylistic differences to avoid confusion between countries operating in joint military ventures -- that's the mission of the I Marine Expeditionary Force Liaison Element (MLE).Activated June 14 here by direction of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the MLE is organized, trained and equipped to provide Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) and Marine Component Commanders with military, regional, cultural and linguistic expertise.As an I MEF initiative, MLE facilitates communications when operating with coalition/allied forces to ensure mutual understanding and unity of purpose and action. Liaison is the most commonly used technique for establishing and maintaining close, continual communications between commands.MLE's emphasis in regions such as the Korean Peninsula, Asian Pacific, Middle East and Horn of Africa maintains I MEF's operational focus. In addition to regional expertise, MLE capitalizes on region- and culture-specific training through the Air Force Special Operations Command.The MLE is a new concept that brings a unique capability to the MAGTF and Marine commanders worldwide. Facilitating coordination of command, control and communication with foreign militaries or international organizations in expeditionary operations across the spectrum of conflict is the MLE's primary goal, according to Maj. Marc W. Jasper, MLE executive officer. "Language is a weapon that works, but understanding a culture is more than speaking the language," Jasper said. "Many times in operations around the world, our coalition partners may not have full understanding of our communications on the battlefield." Foreign military leaders may be passive or reluctant to readily admit confusion, leading to undue stressors during operations, he said. "With maneuver warfare, there has to be a certain amount of trust," Jasper said. The MLE's mission is to arrive in a foreign area and establish trust with both coalition and U.S. commanders, and in many cases, strengthen friendships along the way."The MLE can provide highly trained, readily deployable, integrated teams capable of meeting foreign military and international liaison requirements," Jasper said. These jacks-of-all-trade, hand-picked liaison teams possess expertise in military operations, including Marine Corps and U.S. Joint doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures, regional focus, cultural awareness, linguistics and expediting the exchange of information. Additionally, the MLE provides tactical-level liaison for the planning, coordination and terminal control of air, artillery and naval surface fires with allied/coalition forces. "Our Marines provide everything from linguistic capabilities to calling in mortars at the tactical level," Jasper explained. The MLE has a good balance of foreign area officers, international relations officers, forward air controllers and forward observers including artillerymen, linguists and communicators, said Jasper, who has spent more than five years on assignments in the Middle East.Liaison teams are organized with the right mix of Marines and equipment to accomplish specific liaison missions in support of worldwide exercises and operations. Additionally, these teams are capable of providing critical liaison for Joint Task Forces in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, peacekeeping, and peace enforcement roles.The ability to communicate in several languages is key to MLE's varied missions, according to Jasper, who speaks five different languages. To meet this challenge, MLE has an established Command Language Training Program, authorized and supported by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. MLE currently has capabilities in at least 15 foreign languages."We are very pleased about where we are in developing the MLE concept," said Col. Terry Metler, MLE commanding officer. "We've been fortunate to have some talented Marines assigned who have helped bring us to this point, and we're excited about the future as we support I MEF."