diff --git a/images/base/Dockerfile b/images/base/Dockerfile
index ed307a3b..81f2b560 100644
--- a/images/base/Dockerfile
+++ b/images/base/Dockerfile
@@ -16,7 +16,10 @@ COPY --from=builder /rootfs /
 # ldap-utils provides ldapsearch, used by the git-identity profile script to
 # fetch a user's email from the internal LDAP server on first interactive login.
 RUN apt-get update && \
-    apt-get install -y sssd sudo tmux curl gnupg git jq ldap-utils unattended-upgrades && \
+    apt-get install -y sssd sudo tmux curl gnupg git jq ldap-utils unattended-upgrades locales && \
+    echo 'en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8' >> /etc/locale.gen && \
+    locale-gen && \
+    update-locale LANG=en_US.UTF-8 && \
     pam-auth-update --enable mkhomedir && \
     apt-get clean && \
     rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*