Original Kwikpoint Iraq Visual Language Translator Smart Card, U.S. Military Field Communication Guide, Iraq, 2008

Original laminated accordion-fold Kwikpoint Iraq Visual Language Translator produced for military field communication in Iraq. This is not an airdropped leaflet. It is a reusable visual reference smart card designed for U.S. personnel, using pictograms, maps, rank charts, survival phrases, surrender instructions, detainee search panels, IED recognition panels, hostage and reward scenarios, transportation, vehicle stop, and basic travel communication. 

Item Number: KP6-MIL-IR41

Operation: Operation Iraqi Freedom

Conflict / War: Iraq War

Year: 2008

Country / Theater: Iraq

Language(s): English, Arabic, Kurdish, and Farsi

Format: Original laminated accordion-fold visual language translator smart card

Provenance: Acquired from the family of a U.S. military commander.

Translation:
Front cover: “Iraq Visual Language Translator.” Includes a bilingual map of Iraq with Arabic and English place names, including Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk, Irbil, Fallujah, Karbala, Najaf, Basrah, and Umm Qasr.

Arabic, Kurdish, and Farsi panels include practical command and control phrases such as: “Stop,” “Surrender,” “Drop your weapons,” “Hands up,” “Do you speak English,” “Do not resist,” “Do not move,” “Move slowly,” “Form a line,” “Step out of the vehicle,” “Lie on your stomach,” “Turn around,” “No talking,” “Speak slowly,” and “Calm down.”

Other panels include words and categories for “ambush,” “danger,” “enemy,” “hiding place,” “obstacle,” “target,” “leader,” “guard,” “lookouts,” “prisoners,” “ammunition,” “biological weapons,” “chemical weapons,” “nuclear weapons,” “bomb,” “bomb maker,” “IEDs,” “explosives,” “mines,” and “weapons.”

The visual panels include identification charts, IED concealment diagrams, hostage and reward instructions, surrender and strip search sequences, rank insignia, transportation and smuggling references, travel signs, maps, flags, and basic medical or body-chart communication.

Imagery: The smart card uses dense pictographic panels arranged across a laminated fold-out format. Images include maps of Iraq and the region, illustrated human identification charts, clothing types, skin tone and hair charts, Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and Iraqi Police rank insignia, weapons, vehicles, helicopters, IED parts, concealed explosives, trigger men, spotters, suicide vests, trip wires, manual and remote detonators, hostage and reward scenes, surrender sequences, detainee search instructions, border and customs symbols, road signs, flags, time charts, family trees, pain scales, and basic communication icons.

Objective: To provide U.S. military personnel with a compact field tool for communicating across language barriers in Iraq. The card is designed to support quick identification, questioning, search procedures, surrender handling, detainee processing, IED reporting, vehicle stops, hostage reporting, reward messaging, and basic interaction with Arabic, Kurdish, and Farsi speakers without requiring language training.

Condition: Very good condition. Complete laminated accordion-fold smart card with strong color, clear printing, intact panels, and fully legible text and imagery. Light handling wear, surface rubbing, edge wear, and fold stress are visible, consistent with field-use reference material. The object remains structurally sound and display-ready.

Exhibited in Khajistan: Office of War Information (O.W.I.) at Pioneer Works, New York, May 08 – Aug 09, 2026.