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The Cultural Backpack Backpack Training Soldiers to Operate in Unfamiliar Environments

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The Cultural Backpack Backpack Training Soldiers to Operate in Unfamiliar Environments The CulturalThe Cultural Backpack Backpack Training soldiers to operate in unfamiliar environments Bas Ooink A research to the effects of the current cultural training programmes in the Dutch military and recommendations for the future Radboud University Nijmegen Royal Netherlands Army November 2008 Supervisors: Dr. B. Bomert Drs. E.J.M . Maes Cover: Dutch soldiers on patrol in Uruzgan (Photo AVDD, 2007) 1st print, Amersfoort, November 2008 Lay-out: Jade van Beek Summary Since the start of a significant participation by the Dutch armed forces in peace operations, the Dutch more or less assumed that they possess an almost natural sense of cultural sensitivity. This ‘natural ability’ supposedly manifested itself in the so called ‘Dutch Approach’. The believed natural ability was thought to be rooted in a combination of a colonial past and the current multicultural society in the Netherlands. However, recent developments in Dutch society and in mission areas showed the fallacy of the assumption of a ‘natural ability’ in cultural sensitivity. Recent research has shown that in Dutch society in general (and therefore also in the military) many people have developed a more negative attitude to people from a different culture. Furthermore, today’s missions take place in areas where a positive attitude no longer suffices to gain the ‘hearts and minds’ of the local population. Consequently, soldiers need to have adequate knowledge of local cultures and customs to successfully communicate with the people in their areas of operations. The development of this knowledge should exceed the educational programmes in the current mission preparation phase. The existing cultural training programmes designed for Uruzgan, involve one day of training, consisting of combination of lectures and role-play with Afghans. Besides this day of training, troops also visit a mosque where they are provided with general information about Islamic practices. The main objective of these training activities is the transfer of knowledge and learning correct behaviour. This training is called ‘Cultural Awareness Training’ (CAT programme). It is questionable whether this particular cultural training programme has the desired effect. Do the current cultural training programmes generate the required effects? Therefore the main questions of this thesis are: •What are the desired effects that the armed forces want to achieve in their cultural training programmes? •What are the culture training methods that need to be used to generate the desired effects in soldiers during their mission? •Do the current cultural training programmes of the Dutch military comply with these training methods? •Are the current Dutch cultural training programmes effective in generating the desired effects? In order to answer these questions, an analysis was made of existing cultural training programmes of four NATO countries active in Southern Afghanistan, e.g. the United Kingdom; the United States, Canada and the Netherlands. This analysis provides insight into existing training programmes and scientifically based recommendations for increased effectiveness of culture training and definitions of desired effects. A Cross-Cultural Training model (CCT model) was designed, based on the insight delivered by this analysis. This CCT model consists of practical methods of effective cultural training, spread out in four phases of the individual soldiers’ career. Dutch cultural training programmes will be compared to the standards of the Cross-Cultural Training model, in order to see whether full use is made of all aspects cultural training. Besides the before mentioned analysis, a survey was done. This survey aims to answer the question whether the current cultural training programmes generate the desired effects. Questions were asked about the soldiers’ attitude, perception of the Afghan population, knowledge about the Afghan culture and the soldiers’ behaviour towards Afghans. But what are the desired effects the armed forces want to reach with their cultural trainings? Firstly, they want to generate the desired behaviour by the soldiers towards the local population. Soldiers need to behave respectfully to prevent them from insulting the local population. Secondly, the trainings should reduce the threat of ‘Culture Shock’. Culture Shock is a form of stress, generated by the inability to adapt to a foreign culture. The resulting anger and frustration can negatively influence behaviour towards the local population. Cultural training programmes should be constructed in such a way that both effects are achieved. According to many scientific publications soldiers need to have a general understanding of cultural diversity. This provides them with the ability to consciously deal with cultural differences during deployment. Soldiers need to be aware of their own culture and see other cultures as equivalent (Cultural Literacy). In addition to this mindset, soldiers need to possess a combination of intercultural competences, in order to be able to effectively interact with people from other cultures (Cross- Cultural Competences). This cultural basis can be learned by a combination of transfer of knowledge, insight in the way cultural knowledge should be gathered, motivation, and behavioural skills (Cultural intelligence). Beside this cultural basis, soldiers have to learn about local customs and culture of the mission area, in order to know how to behave (Cultural Awareness). In addition to this, affective teaching methods and motivation of the participants are crucial for effective cultural training. A clear distinction between education and training is important in all of this. From the publications that were used, the author designed the aforementioned CCT model. This model brings all aspects of Cultural Literacy, Cross-Cultural Competence, Cultural Awareness and Cultural Intelligence together in a practical framework, divided into four different phases. These phases are the initial education phase, the pre-deployment phase, the deployment phase and the re-deployment phase. When the current Dutch cultural training programmes are compared to the CCT model, it proves that the training programmes that comply with the initial education are simplistic at best. The cultural awareness training in the pre-deployment phase does seem to be more extensive however. During the deployment and the re-deployment, no attention is paid to the initial cultural training aspect, which in turn can lead to unpredictable and undisciplined troop behaviour during deployment. The research survey was conducted among soldiers of two different Battle Groups at two different phases of the mission in Uruzgan. The situation in Uruzgan was relatively uneventful during the deployment of the first Battle Group, which was the 12th Infantry Battalion. The 13th Infantry Battalion, which was the second Battle Group to be tested, was the third unit that was deployed to Uruzgan. The situation in Southern Afghanistan became more violent during the deployment of the 13th Battalion. The soldiers of both Battle Groups filled out questionnaires at three different moments in time: right before the training; right after the training; and right after the mission. The questions in the survey were regarding the soldier’s attitude towards and perception of the local population in Afghanistan, as well as the soldiers’ knowledge about the Afghan culture and how to behave correctly in this culture. The surveys showed that the attitude and perception of the soldiers towards the Afghan population did not improve after training. The training seems to have had no significant effect on the attitude and perception of the soldiers about other cultures. The behaviour and knowledge of the soldiers with regards to the culture and local population in Uruzgan also seemed not to change significantly after the training. The training also seems to have had no significant effect on the knowledge and the behaviour of the soldiers. After the mission it seemed that the attitude and the perception of the soldiers towards the Afghan population decreased dramatically. The amount of violence during the mission seemed to have an influence on the perception of the soldiers towards the locals. The behaviour and knowledge of the soldiers also did not improve after the mission. It was apparent that the current cultural training programmes did not adequately comply with the desired effects. The current culture trainings seem not to generate a positive attitude towards the local culture, and do not reduce the effects of Culture Shock. The knowledge and behaviour also seem to lack improvement, which indicates the threat that soldiers might behave in such a way that they could insult the local population. To improve the effects of cultural training programmes in the future, the current training programmes need to be upgraded. The trainings need to be a part of a broader cultural programme which generates a broad cultural basis, and provide adequate knowledge and behavioural skills for soldiers to be able to behave in a desirable way in the mission area. Cultural training should not solely be based on Cultural Awareness, but also on Cultural Literacy, Cross-Cultural Competencies and Cultural Intelligence, the current cultural awareness trainings should be integrated as part of this programme. Future training should be given in different phases of the soldiers’ career: in the initial education as well as the pre- deployment. Soldiers need to be culturally coached during the mission and evaluated
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