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Going Native
July 24, 2008 | Posted by Kip - 6:48am | 39 Comments
"Advisors are not 'them.'" warns a principle from the emerging joint doctrine on security force assistance.
Task Force Phoenix in Afghanistan issues stern warning about hair cuts, shaving, and uniform standard so that advisors don't "go native."
"Going native" is a charge sometimes levied by Coalition maneuver force commanders when their advisors don't produce the effects they would like.
Kip thinks it is highly useful to explore the concept for a moment.
Advisors are in the business of developing a foreign force. This is done in order to further US interests in the region.
Advisors are not commanders. Successful advising is a factor of influence and the raw capabilities of the force with which the advisor is assigned. Because the advisor does not command the security forces with which he works, his success is based on his ability to build rapport with his counterpart, demonstrate his credibility as an advisor worth being listened to, and provide value in terms of access to resources otherwise unavailable to his counterpart.
Without rapport, the enterprise fails, and the advisor cannot demonstrate the overlap in US and foreign force interest required for success. Oftentimes, a strict adherence to US military standards of appearance is detrimental to the development of rapport--something long ago recognized by US Special Forces. In Afghanistan, for instance, a lack of facial hair is generally associated with youth, inexperience, Communism, and homosexuality, yet conventional advisors are prohibited from growing beards.
Advisors in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been oft-chastised by the advisor commands for uniform modifications meant to build rapport such as wearing of the Afghan or Iraqi flag opposite their US flag or wearing other elements of local dress. These advisors are criticized as having "gone native."
When US advisors eat, sleep, and live with their foreign counterparts, incredulous maneuver units still sometimes deride their "going native."
Such derision and concern is ludicrous. Good advisors recognize the importance of overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers by demonstrating their commitment to identifying with the unit they are advising. Such gestures allow the advisor to gain more influence to help drive the foreign unit toward US goals. US forces could not become "them" even if they tried...truly blending in with the populace is a rare skill gained over years of experience, not a couple of months.
The real concern should be over the lack of political understanding and context displayed by some advisors. Their responsibility is to facilitate US interests through support to the unit they are advising. In order to to do this successfully, they have to understand US interests. When the advisor is no longer working to support US interests because of closer identification with his counterpart's interests than those of the US or because he fails to understand that actions taken by his counterpart are undermining US interest, then we can say he has "gone native."
It has nothing to do with his haircut, and it would be nice if after a half decade of conventional force based advising in Afghanistan and Iraq if the advisor commands in both theaters would adopt uniform and grooming policies that recognized the importance of developing rapport with one's counterpart.
Heck, it might even save advisors from terrible facial infections, a result of the rush shave jobs when advisors hear higher is approaching.
Task Force Phoenix in Afghanistan issues stern warning about hair cuts, shaving, and uniform standard so that advisors don't "go native."
"Going native" is a charge sometimes levied by Coalition maneuver force commanders when their advisors don't produce the effects they would like.
Kip thinks it is highly useful to explore the concept for a moment.
Advisors are in the business of developing a foreign force. This is done in order to further US interests in the region.
Advisors are not commanders. Successful advising is a factor of influence and the raw capabilities of the force with which the advisor is assigned. Because the advisor does not command the security forces with which he works, his success is based on his ability to build rapport with his counterpart, demonstrate his credibility as an advisor worth being listened to, and provide value in terms of access to resources otherwise unavailable to his counterpart.
Without rapport, the enterprise fails, and the advisor cannot demonstrate the overlap in US and foreign force interest required for success. Oftentimes, a strict adherence to US military standards of appearance is detrimental to the development of rapport--something long ago recognized by US Special Forces. In Afghanistan, for instance, a lack of facial hair is generally associated with youth, inexperience, Communism, and homosexuality, yet conventional advisors are prohibited from growing beards.
Advisors in both Iraq and Afghanistan have been oft-chastised by the advisor commands for uniform modifications meant to build rapport such as wearing of the Afghan or Iraqi flag opposite their US flag or wearing other elements of local dress. These advisors are criticized as having "gone native."
When US advisors eat, sleep, and live with their foreign counterparts, incredulous maneuver units still sometimes deride their "going native."
Such derision and concern is ludicrous. Good advisors recognize the importance of overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers by demonstrating their commitment to identifying with the unit they are advising. Such gestures allow the advisor to gain more influence to help drive the foreign unit toward US goals. US forces could not become "them" even if they tried...truly blending in with the populace is a rare skill gained over years of experience, not a couple of months.
The real concern should be over the lack of political understanding and context displayed by some advisors. Their responsibility is to facilitate US interests through support to the unit they are advising. In order to to do this successfully, they have to understand US interests. When the advisor is no longer working to support US interests because of closer identification with his counterpart's interests than those of the US or because he fails to understand that actions taken by his counterpart are undermining US interest, then we can say he has "gone native."
It has nothing to do with his haircut, and it would be nice if after a half decade of conventional force based advising in Afghanistan and Iraq if the advisor commands in both theaters would adopt uniform and grooming policies that recognized the importance of developing rapport with one's counterpart.
Heck, it might even save advisors from terrible facial infections, a result of the rush shave jobs when advisors hear higher is approaching.
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