Military Review English Edition November-December 2014 | Page 69
MILITARY ADVISING AFTER 9/11
Major Advisory Lessons Learned or
Re-Learned Since 9/11
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Avoid the ugly American U.S. advisor style. This
is a doomed approach for military advisors. It includes
Several major lessons learned (or re-learned) have
being impatient, threatening, commanding, condeemerged from our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan scending, and narrow-minded; exuding a my way or
after the attacks on 9/11. These include the need for
the highway style; and, exhibiting United States-centric
advisors to forge strong relationships with their counchauvinism.11 Such an advisory approach will fail.
terparts and linguists, the need to learn about and adapt
Attain cross-cultural competence to help build
to the unconventional military advising mission, and
combat advisor-counterpart relationships and enhance
other key lessons that follow in this section.
advisory team survivability.12
Building strong relaAcquire cultionships with counterture-specific compeparts is the most importtence about a counterant aspect of the advising
part and the cultural
mission. The attribute that
context in which that
appears most often in the
person thinks and acts.
historic and contemporary
To succeed, advisors
military advising documust learn relevant
ments I reviewed is the
and detailed knowledge
need for advisors to build
about the counterpart,
solid working relationships
the counterpart’s orgawith their counterparts.10
nization, and, the host
To succeed in the mission,
nation and region.13
an advisor’s ability to effecAccept a countertively influence, counsel,
part’s hospitality, and
teach, mentor, coach, role
draw on the power of
model, and conduct other
informal socializing to
actions that support the ad- Staff Sgt. Frederick Scott, an advisor with the NATO Training
build relationships.
vising mission hinges on the Mission-Afghanistan Mobile Training Team, receives a token
Use humor,
of appreciation from an Afghan National Army officer during
establishment of rapport,
including comical
a transition ceremony at Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan, 17 April
trust, and a positive adviself-deprecation, to
2013. The Afghan National Army general staff G-4 transitioned
sor-counterpart working
build rapport with
from International Security Assistance Force support to complete
relationship.
counterparts.
independence, marking a significant milestone.
(Photo by Canadian Cpl. Jean-Philippe Marquis)
The most important
Wisely navigate
method to develop a prodelicate, sensitive issues
ductive advisor-counterpart relationship is to create a
when interacting with counterparts. Despite warnings
strong personal connection. Such a relationship results
from advisor training and doctrine about avoiding
from advisors’ concerted efforts to learn about their
taboo topics (politics, religion, etc.), sometimes candid,
counterparts’ personal characteristics and idiosyncrabut private, conversations about these topics build adsies. A productive relationship also comes from gaining
visor-counterpart bonds. However, appropriate timing
greater knowledge of the overall context in which the
and settings for such conversations is essential.14
counterparts function and then applying a variety of
Serve as a meaningful role model through perrelevant techniques to leverage this understanding to
sistent professional presence.15
create mutual trust and a solid bond.
Build relationships with counterparts, but avoid
The following advisory approaches (including
over-identification with counterparts or ‘going native.’16
advising methods to avoid) support creating a benefiPractice cultural stretching: advisors must often
cial advisor-counterpart relationship to advance the
enter discomfort zones and tolerate or participate in
advising mission:
some unusual or culturally challenging events to bond
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MILITARY REVIEW November-Decembe r 2014
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