The Impact of Cultural Understanding in the Operational Area

“In our daily lives, we don’t interact with cultures, we interact with people” (Mackenzie, 2014). Intercultural communication exists in order to improve interactions and to predict the cultural dynamics that impact them. Cross cultural training offers a variety of concepts and skills designed to assist in the process of building and maintaining relationships across cultures. Cultural awareness is not a new concept in the military, initially the Marine Corps did not have a formal program providing cultural awareness training to its forces until recently. For instance, Marines in 2001 through 2003 did not receive formal cultural awareness training. Most units deploying to Afghanistan or Iraq prior to 2004 conducted their own cultural awareness

Respect is to “Treat people as they should be treated.” Every soldier is responsible for treating other people with dignity and respect. As Soldiers we pledge to treat others with respect and dignity while not expecting anything in return. Respect allows us to appreciate what our Army leaders and Friends do for us. Respect is to have trust that people will fulfill their duties and accomplish what is expected of them. Respecting ones self is an important factor of the Army value of respect. We, the United States Army are one team and we each have something to contribute. What is respect? Respect has numerous forms. It can be self-awareness, character, understanding, trust, honesty, and a positive attitude. Respect must be earned. If someone does not respect himself or herself then they are not able to respect others. To gain respect you must treat others the way you would want to be treated, as you have heard many times before. If a unit lacks respect it cannot have teamwork and sympathy for the well being of others. It creates devotion to the success of the team. Respect goes both ways up and down the chain of command. A leader must respect his or her soldiers as their soldiers must appreciate the sacrifices and skills their superiors and vice versa. by respecting the people around you with effort, and in time soldiers come to respect each other.

Respect, especially in the Army is a very important value to live by. It is much more than just talking kindly and listening to someone. It is the process of taking into consideration someone’s emotions, feelings and needs. You must also focus on their ideas, thoughts, and preferences. It is showing someone that you value their time; that you care what they have to say. Showing someone respect allows that person to know and acknowledge that you are tracking them and that you comprehend and believe in what they are saying, It is important to allow someone to feel your respect for them. It will ease the conversation and create trust. Behavior and attitude will allow the person demanding respect to feel that respect. When we

I think disrespect is one of the biggest issues in the united states military. Respect is something everyone wants, not many have, and few want to give. Unfortunately, respect is not something that is given all the time. Maybe this is because respect is not clearly understood. What is respect? The Webster’s Dictionary defines it as an act of giving particular attention or high or special regard. Another definition shows respect as a feeling or attitude of admiration and deference toward somebody or something. And disrespect is defined as the lack of respect. This does not explain completely what it is, but at least it gives us an idea about what it may be. As a matter of fact, there are many forms of respect. There is physical respect.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the real world consequences of when Army leaders become complacent dealing with foreign national soldiers, and the day to day operations while in a combat theatre. To gather lessons learned from the example discussed in order to lower the probability of a reoccurrence among the force. Through the example demonstrate the need for Army leaders to constantly fight against complacency, and the extreme importance that leaders know their soldiers, and place their soldiers’ needs before their own. The scenario discussed was a real incident that took place in Iraq in 2009, at a Coalition Outpost (COP) approximately 30 kilometers south of Mosul, in a city called Hammam al-Alil.

In this paper I will begin by defining personal culture and national culture. After, I will then elaborate my own personal and national culture. I will continue to talk about the subject with the person that I have chosen for my cultural group, my mother, and I will identify her personal and national culture. Lastly, I will talk about my own personality and how it has a connection with my own natural culture; knowing this is important, it lets us know who we are, and how we act with people who are from different cultures.

Special Forces soldiers work in foreign lands with situations which are not always completely clear from its beginning. The Special Operation Imperatives serve as the base for success by providing the framework to develop and assist the host nation in achieving their desired goals. Through this essay I will use the novel “The Ugly American” (William J. Lederer & Eugene Burdick) to provide context to the benefits of applying such imperatives and the consequences of improper application. I will bring to light the actions of the characters and depict the reasons why the application of the imperative made the character succeed or fail in his desired goal.

For example, when Alpha Company stayed in a village where they were treated with hospitality by an old blind man and children but didn't stoped a man to show gratitude. A “stupid soldier,blond hair and big belly, picked up a carton of milk and from fifteen feet away hurled it for no reason” (100) that struck the old man in face causing him to lose balance and fall down. With no apology the old man got up and continued to wash another soldier. Acting on ignorance and hateful action the soldier did not just show how some soldiers didn't like the vietnamese people but how no soldier stood up for the old man. Witnessing the soldier disrespecting the old O'brien, the soldiers and even the children just stood there without saying anything show the ignorance of such acts and a acceptance of it. American soldiers who don't stand for what they believe in and harm someone who is trying to help them shows dictionary

In Nato Thompson’s novel, Culture as Weapon, Thompson informs his readers about the many actions, and ideas that can help classify culture in our world today. Culture can be identified in a multitude of ways because culture is the values and beliefs that help guide us into shaping who we are as humans. For example, things such as “movies, online programming, advertisements, sports, retail outlets, music, art museums, and social networking” ( Thompson, vii) all have a influence on the decisions that we make, therefore they are all aspects of our culture. Due to the fact that there are many ways that we are capable of describing culture, this also means that there is a magnitude of things that can guide or even manipulate our values and beliefs

There are many laity use of the word culture that gets thrown around in day-to-day conversation amongst our peers. Culture is used to define certain aspects of our lives and how we live on a daily basis. There are some that believe that they do not possess a culture. There are others who feel that we all live our own individual unique culture in our lives. However, being that culture is such a broad subject, the only way to define it is to operationalize its context and attempt to try and understand it based on a universal definition. Sergiovanni and Corbally (1986) defined culture that includes a system of values, symbols, and shared meanings in a group that includes embodying these values, symbols, and shared meanings in ritualize practice. Using this particular definition of culture, the small island of Okinawa is enriched with it. Their way of day-to-day lifestyle, geographical terrain, as well as their military history can all be analyzed through their culture as well as provide information in terms of our current military jargon for the benefit of the United States Army.

Respect is one the 7 Army Values and probably one of the most important in today’s Army. Discipline also works alongside respect

The Army has kind of got it right, in a way. They view respect as a way that we should act towards each other and treat each other. But Respect is still so much more then that. You can not respect just a person, or a rank, or a position, but also someones experience that has led them to where they are. Its more about feelings

According to FORSCOM G8, "Army leaders honor everyone’s individual worth by treating all people with dignity and respect. The leader who feels and gives the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for himself. While he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself. Respect for the individual forms the basis for the rule of law, the very essence of what makes America. In the Army, respect means recognizing and appreciating the inherent dignity and worth of all people. This value reminds you that your people are your greatest resource."

Culture of a nation is manifested and influenced by a number of factors. National psyche and traits being the most pronounced ones. Military culture , to a certain extent , is in harmony with the national culture, however, it has its own impulses and dynamics. It incorporates obedience that curtails individual freedom or at times it may be at tangent with the socio-cultural values of a society ; Military culture of British – Indian Army ,as inherited by us is a case in point here. Philosophy of our present military outlets draws strength from history , organisational infrastructure , uniform , traditions social moorings and a host of other factors which , despite numerous changes , is still undergoing the process of evolution.

The world is made up many different cultures and cultural awareness is important to enhance understanding and respect for other cultures (Schein and Edgar, 14). Culture awareness is important in all areas including in security. It is common for countries to send their armed forces for missions to various parts of the world where culture is completely different. Therefore, it is important to understand the various cultures and societies from these different countries which is very important for successful missions (Schein and Edgar, 16). This paper is therefore going to discuss in details culture awareness in Georgia.