Military Review English Edition November-December 2014 | Page 69

MILITARY ADVISING AFTER 9/11 Major Advisory Lessons Learned or Re-Learned Since 9/11 • 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 • • • • • • • • MILITARY REVIEW  November-Decembe r 2014 67