The reality is that SF cannot be everywhere, and where they are, they are territorial (and at times rightly so). Basic grunts need to employ some basic rules of interaction, and so it seems someone has deemed it important enough to contract training.
I think the preponderance of cultural training is self-destructive because it is too generalist and not tailored to specific AOs, barely scratches the surface for some folks and in turn actually causes confusion and inner doubt over whether one is eating soup with the right knife, and frankly is just another contract sinkhole.
The cultural interaction rules we should follow should be no different than what should be practiced in the course of reasonable human interaction:
-Shown deference to elders
-Do not interrupt your host
-Listen more and talk less
-Look people in the eye when you speak
-Do not boast
-Do not lie
-Do not make claims that are not true or that you cannot back up
-Eat what your host puts on your plate
-Thank your host for the hospitality he has provided
-Do not belittle your host, or scoff at his possessions, even if he believes he is rich yet really very poor
-Say what you mean and mean what you say
I didn't learn these rules from some nifty class provided by a cultural "expert", I learned them from my father, and he from his father.
We would do better when we attempt to FIND, FEEL, INFLUENCE by drafting more precise PIRs in the first place, instead of stumbling around sucking in everything we can touch, see, and hear. Improve that, and we will have gone a long way to improving our plight. This training is not really beneficial to any branch of the Army.
Or it could simply ensure the folks sitting around us at the shura have an easier time of perfecting their role as opportunists.an understanding of the specific needs and desires of local populations is essential towards maintaining situational awareness, enhancing security, and fulfilling key priority information requirements for host country and supporting national forces
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