1. Building effective cross cultural competency
within the U.S. Military in Afghanistan:
The Case for the State Partnership Program
By Frieda Arenos

2. Research Question and Approach
Research Question: In the case of Afghanistan, how can we more effectively build effective cross-cultural competency in order to strengthen the U.S. military’s stabilization efforts?
Inductive Research Approach:
Observations
Patterns
Theory

3. September 11, 2001: al-Qaeda attacks the World Trade Center

4. U.S. timeline in Afghanistan, 2001-2015
2001: Operation Enduring Freedom; Bonn Agreement; International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
2002: Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT’s); Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI); Greater Middle East Initiative (GMEI)
2003: NATO gains control of ISAF
2006: Afghanistan Compact
2008: 17,000 U.S. soldiers sent to Afghanistan
2009: Counterinsurgency (COIN); 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan
2012: Bilateral Security Agreement; U.S. draws down troops and resources to Afghanistan
2014: Ashraf Ghani inaugurated as President; U.S. and NATO end ISAF combat mission
2015: NATO Resolute Support Mission

5. The Socio-Cultural Elements of War: Afghanistan
Social Culture
Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hindus, Baluchis, Nuristanis, Uzbeks,
Hirghiz, Hzaras,and Turkmans
99% Islam, 85% Sunni
Politics
Instability after decades of turmoil and turnover
Economics
$5.1 billion in foreign aid, two-thirds of which is lost to corruption
Drug trade
Information
Underdeveloped information network
Informal networks exist along ethnic and tribal loyalties
Security
Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)
Geography
Difficult geographic terrain, influx of cross-border conflict
The Socio-Cultural Elements of War: Afghanistan

6. Evidence from the ground: The necessity for cross-cultural competency in Afghanistan
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs)
Counterinsurgency (COIN)
The State Partnership Program (SPP)
Human Terrain System

7. Methodology
Review of scholarly literature on cross-cultural competency theory.
Review of CRS reports, DOD and military publications and training manuals; U.S. military personnel blogs, NATO publications, and in-country documentaries conducted during training efforts.
Case analysis on the State Partnership Program and its efforts in Afghanistan under the ISAF embedded troop deployment of the Vermont National Guard and the Army of the Republic of Macedonia.
Interviews conducted with Major General and Lieutenant General of the Vermont National Guard, and soldiers from the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) and the Army of the Republic of Macedonia.

8. Review of Literature: Theories of cross-cultural competency
Brent D. Ruben: Intercultural Behavior Assessment Indices (IBAI)
Display of Respect; Interaction Posture; Orientation to Knowledge; Empathy; Self-oriented role behavior; Interaction management; Tolerance for ambiguity
Milton Bennett: Developmental Model for Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS)
Denial of difference; Defense against difference
Minimization of difference; Acceptance of difference
Adaptation to difference; Integration of difference
Gudykunst: Model of anxiety and uncertainty management
Kim: Integrative Systems Theory
Ting-Toomey: Negotiation Model

9. The military defines cross-cultural competency (3C)
2005 Defense Regional Cultural Capabilities Assessment officially defined 3C and identified 40 individual skills required to achieve it.
2014 report published by the DOD in joint cooperation with Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps says military is committed to building 3C across all branches.
Skills necessary to achieve 3C can be grouped into knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAO), which include competencies in:
Self regulation
Interpersonal Skills
Stress-management
Non-Verbal Communication
Negotiation
Learning how to act appropriately in different cultural contexts
DOD acknowledges that more research is necessary to understand best practices to achieving 3C, but discusses the importance of classroom lectures, pre-deployment training, and simulations.
The military defines cross-cultural competency (3C)

10. Case Analysis: The State Partnership Program
State Partnership Program (SPP) established in 1992 to build relationships with international partners and to improve cultural awareness across countries. Today, there are 68 partnerships with 74 partner nations.
Effectively builds relationships over several decades of training with partner militaries. SPP’s also engage in international projects with partner militaries. Over 20 missions have been conducted through SPP embedded partnership teams in Afghanistan under ISAF.
Appropriated annually under DOD discretionary funding. In recent years, program has faced pushback from State Department, USAID, and other stakeholders who feel oversight is not efficient GAO report suggests lack of data on spending practices and DOD guidance, which has led to the program fighting for survival in recent years.

11. Vermont-Macedonia National Guard Partnership 86th Infantry Combat Brigade (Mountain) Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM) ISAF Mission to Afghanistan,
In 2009, the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) was selected to participate in an ISAF mission in Afghanistan alongside its SPP partner, ARM. This was the first of 20 embedded troop partnerships that were deployed to Afghanistan under ISAF.
Ahead of deployment to Afghanistan, the two militaries trained together, first in Vermont and then in Macedonia.

12. First hand accounts from the mission…
Major General William F. Roy
Colonel Metodi Hadji-Janev
35 years in the National Guard; four tours in Afghanistan: Senior Advisor on training for Vermont-Macedonian unit in Afghanistan.
Foreign language skills allow you to see the culture through the other’s lens.
He made it clear to American soldiers that their job was not to make the Afghan army like the American army. Assess where they are and help them get to where they want to be.
It was clear the soldiers who had trained with the Macedonians ahead of deployment. They were more comfortable with the Afghans and more effective in their training and missions.
The more exposure to international culture ahead of deployment, the more cross-culturally competent the individual.
12 years in Special Forces with Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM). Wrote Rules of Engagement for Special Forces deployed under ISAF mission.
Intercultural engagement ahead of deployment established openness, friendship, and helped to harmonize differences in military and social culture on all fronts.
ISAF mission displayed first model for coalition embedment – led to “trilateral” cooperation, and built cross-cultural competency among personnel.
Cross-cultural competency is critical in complex situations like Afghanistan. SPP builds this ahead of deployment and should be a model for future engagements, which are projected to be coalition-partnership based.

13. Key Findings from Case Analysis of VT-Macedonia’s SPP’s ISAF mission
SPP builds trust, friendship, and intercultural skills ahead of deployment.
SPP builds cross-cultural competency by mitigating the psychological stressors faced when interacting with foreign cultures in complex environments.
SPP aligns goals of international militaries which allows for collaboration on best practices in the goal of combat and/or peacekeeping.
SPP expands recognition of the many useful solutions, skills, training, and tactics that exist across international militaries.

14. Implications
SPP
Knowledge
Skills
Abilities
Other
Stabilization missions are difficult, especially in complex situations like Afghanistan. If the goal of the DOD is to build cross-cultural competency across all branches of the U.S. military in order to expand success during future missions --
The partnership and collaboration, combined with the expansion of intercultural education in the program, especially ahead of deployment, serves as a model for building effective KSAO for future U.S. military engagements abroad.

15. Recommendations
Encourage the DOD to provide clear guidance on SPP oversight and civilian engagement to expand discretionary funding for the program.
Expand intercultural training missions not just ahead of international deployments, but as a part of routine training initiatives.
Integrate partnership exchanges in war colleges and academies, and across all branches of the military to build cross-cultural competency.
Create joint force comprised of State, USAID, and military stakeholders to encourage coordination among all parties involved in peacekeeping efforts and to identifies both gaps and best practices for building cross-cultural competency in the field.

16. 2012 U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno
"We have learned many lessons over the last 10 years, but one of the most compelling is that—whether you are working among the citizens of a country, or working with their government or Armed Forces—nothing is as important to your long term success as understanding the prevailing culture and values.”
2012 U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno

17. About the Author
Frieda Arenos is a first year graduate student in the Intercultural and International Communication Program with American University’s School of International Service. She is also the junior legislative aide on Health, Education, Human Services, and Nutrition for U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Frieda’s research is focused on the effects of communication in post-war reconstruction efforts, with regional specializations in the Balkans, Western Africa, and Afghanistan. She has also conducted research on the intercultural relations between U.S. leaders and U.S. government agencies.
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