BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has scrambled to improve communications with Iraqi civilians and soldiers.

Officials said the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have sought to enhance Arabic skills among commanders and soldiers, Middle East Newsline reported. They said soldiers have been sent to crash Arabic courses while units have been supplied with computerized translator systems.

"It's such a big deal when you try to speak their language," Sgt. Jason Stisser, a member of 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, said. "Just like at our home station, I don't think we should be walking around Germany without learning how to say, 'Excuse me, please and I'm sorry,' ... just the basic stuff."

Stisser, who began learning the language in 2005, has used his Arabic skills in security missions in Baghdad. The 4th Squadron has been deployed in search operations with Iraq Army units in Baghdad's Karkh neighborhood.

"There's a stigma with what we do; they think we think they are terrorists or something," Stisser said. "What I try to tell them [is that] all I need is info."

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Robert Sanders, operations chief for Battery K, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, has been providing crash courses in Arabic to soldiers and commanders. Sanders, who lived among Iraqis in 2004, developed an understanding of Arab culture during his upbringing in Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

"Staff Sergeant Sanders is our bid for success in the villages," Marine Corps 1st Lt. Matthew Thompson, executive officer for the battery, said. "He has found his niche in working with the Iraqis. He can communicate with the Iraqis without an interpreter, and they can communicate with him."

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