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.

Phillip Herlein, center, stands at the board as he tutors, from left, Capt. George Walter, Maj. David Hibner and Maj. Levi R. Dunton at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. The three Army officers are attending the Moore School of Business, which boasts one of the country's best graduate programs in international business. The men will spend two years in the classroom and five months in language training overseas to earn their master's degrees.

The three officers at the University of South Carolina are enrolled at the Moore School of Business, which boasts one of the country’s best international business graduate programs. They will spend two years in the classroom and five months in language training overseas to earn their master’s degrees.

Hibner, a 32-year-old combat engineer from Michigan City, Ind., said the program offers a chance to learn from fellow students, as well their professors. The faculty, staff and 106 students in the class represent 75 countries including Moldova, Turkey, India and China.

“We spend a lot of time learning not only about the businesses in other cultures, but the cultures in and of themselves. … We gain a lot from that,” Hibner said.

Studying alongside Hibner are Maj. Levi Dunton, a 32-year-old Apache helicopter pilot from Chewelah, Wash., and Capt. George Walter, 31, a combat engineer from Edisto Island.

Their courses, which began in July, include global business issues and practices, and international management. The Army is footing the bill but caps the annual tuition costs at $13,000.

All three officers said the classes will bolster their abilities to serve in any country but particularly in the Arabic-speaking world.

Dunton said his unit had communications problems near Tikrit, Iraq, even while trying to give donated toys and clothing to children. “It was difficult,” he said. “You’d end up playing a lot of charades. It turned a short conversation into an hour. … There were definitely missed communications.”

A project to build a small schoolhouse “turned into a multiple-month project,” Dunton said. And when it was completed, it really didn’t suit the community’s needs. “Just having some native language ability would have helped significantly,” he said.

As part of the invasion force that entered Baghdad, Hibner said his unit had one Arabic translator for more than 400 soldiers. Going into a building and trying to understand its mechanical systems “was frustrating for us. The dials. The hardware. We didn’t know what worked and what didn’t,” he said.

The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps also send some officers for advanced degrees, but very few senior officers are given the time to devote to in-depth language and international studies.

Patterson said the Army plans to put about 200 officers into advanced degree programs with an international focus. That will be in addition to the 400 officers that normally are sent to some type of advanced school, he said.

“We want a mix of disciplines at a variety of schools,” Patterson said. Other officers in the pilot program are attending the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif., and Columbia University in New York City.