thedrifter
02-05-07, 07:21 AM
Marines, Army intensify cultural training in war
By Thomas Watkins, The Associated Press
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Article Launched:02/05/2007 12:00:00 AM PST
CAMP PENDLETON - A former Marine captain tells departing troops that it's OK to talk to an Iraqi girl, but not a woman. Never admonish an Iraqi man in front of his family. And don't be surprised if someone introduces himself with a 40-second handshake.
Those edicts, delivered one January morning in a classroom at this Marine base north of San Diego, are part of a new drive to increase troop exposure to Iraqi culture before they deploy. The Army is taking similar steps in an effort to avoid cultural missteps that plagued the military earlier and made it more difficult to win public support from Iraqis.
"Cultural understanding is a weapon," Edward Slavis, the former Marine captain, told about 150 Iraq-bound troops from the 1st Radio Battalion and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. "You need to prepare for the war of ideas and beliefs through cultural learning and understanding."
Slavis, 27, works for the Center for Advanced Operational Cultural Learning, which the Marines established 18 months ago to make troops more sensitive to other cultures. CAOCL employs about 45 Marines, Arabic language teachers and cultural experts, and sends them to U.S. Marine bases to teach troops headed overseas.
Like many Marines, when he first went to Iraq in 2003, Slavis got only a half-hour briefing on Arab customs.
Now most Marines headed to the Middle East must take the CAOCL's four-hour seminar, which includes a rapid-fire history lesson, starting with the ancient Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar through Saddam Hussein's ascendance to power. Classroom time is augmented by smaller classes at the platoon level.
An Army team based in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., travels around the country to teach similar classes at Army bases. And for the last eight months or so, most new soldiers have been given up to 24 hours of cultural awareness training, said Army Col. Kevin Shwedo.
Soldiers are encouraged to share experiences in Iraq with Fort Leavenworth's Center for Army Lessons Learned. Their comments are posted an internal Army Web site.
The Army also hires native Arab speakers to enact scenarios with soldiers ahead of their deployments.
Ellie
By Thomas Watkins, The Associated Press
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Article Launched:02/05/2007 12:00:00 AM PST
CAMP PENDLETON - A former Marine captain tells departing troops that it's OK to talk to an Iraqi girl, but not a woman. Never admonish an Iraqi man in front of his family. And don't be surprised if someone introduces himself with a 40-second handshake.
Those edicts, delivered one January morning in a classroom at this Marine base north of San Diego, are part of a new drive to increase troop exposure to Iraqi culture before they deploy. The Army is taking similar steps in an effort to avoid cultural missteps that plagued the military earlier and made it more difficult to win public support from Iraqis.
"Cultural understanding is a weapon," Edward Slavis, the former Marine captain, told about 150 Iraq-bound troops from the 1st Radio Battalion and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. "You need to prepare for the war of ideas and beliefs through cultural learning and understanding."
Slavis, 27, works for the Center for Advanced Operational Cultural Learning, which the Marines established 18 months ago to make troops more sensitive to other cultures. CAOCL employs about 45 Marines, Arabic language teachers and cultural experts, and sends them to U.S. Marine bases to teach troops headed overseas.
Like many Marines, when he first went to Iraq in 2003, Slavis got only a half-hour briefing on Arab customs.
Now most Marines headed to the Middle East must take the CAOCL's four-hour seminar, which includes a rapid-fire history lesson, starting with the ancient Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar through Saddam Hussein's ascendance to power. Classroom time is augmented by smaller classes at the platoon level.
An Army team based in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., travels around the country to teach similar classes at Army bases. And for the last eight months or so, most new soldiers have been given up to 24 hours of cultural awareness training, said Army Col. Kevin Shwedo.
Soldiers are encouraged to share experiences in Iraq with Fort Leavenworth's Center for Army Lessons Learned. Their comments are posted an internal Army Web site.
The Army also hires native Arab speakers to enact scenarios with soldiers ahead of their deployments.
Ellie