RCT-5 Marines conduct cultural immersion training

Photo By Sgt. Ammon Carter | MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Thomas Freel, Regimental Combat Team 5 effects officer, washes his hands before sharing a meal with Afghan National Army role player at a key leader engagement training exercise during Enhanced Mojave Viper aboard Marine Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., June 7. As the first regimental combat team to participate in EMV, RCT-5 will fine tune its command and control capabilities during this combined arms exercise.  

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, UNITED STATES

06.07.2011

Story by 2nd Lt. Chris Harper 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – Nearly 150 Marines with the Brigade and Police Advisory Teams and command elements of Regimental Combat Team 5, 1st Battalion 6th Marine Regiment and Combat Logistics Battalion 6 participated in a cultural immersion event here June 7.

Sharing a meal with role players acting as their Afghan counterparts, the Marines were given a taste of the culture they will encounter during their upcoming deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The mailmastia, a Pashto word meaning invitation or hospitality, began with a few words from the role player acting as an Afghan National Army major general. Following the brief address, he invited Col. Roger Turner, commanding officer of RCT-5, to say a few words.

“Good evening brave Afghans. We are very proud to be here… We will fight with you like brothers, shoulder to shoulder to defeat our common enemy,” said Turner.

Following looks of approval from the Afghan role players, Turner placed his hand over his heart in a gesture of sincerity as he concluded his remarks.

“We look forward to working together to improve the future for all the people of Afghanistan,” said Turner.

This cultural immersion event was conducted in coordination with Enhanced Mojave Viper under the supervision of the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command Advisor Training Group. ATG prepares Marine Corps advisor teams to advise, mentor and train foreign military, police and border units in operational techniques and procedures to combat terrorism and counter an insurgency.

The course of instruction conducted by ATG spans the first 21 days of EMV training. During that time, Marines are given classes on the culture, customs and language of the Afghan people along with various opportunities to interact with Afghan role players. At the end of the 21-day training cycle, Marines reintegrate with their parent units to put their newly acquired cultural and linguistic skills to the test.

ATG strives to give Marines the most accurate experience possible. All of its role players are native Afghans who have since immigrated to the United States. Each role player is required to be fluent in Pashto or Dari, the two predominant languages spoken in Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Daniel Benz, deputy director of ATG, views events like this as an opportunity for Marines to immerse themselves in the culture and language of the Afghan people.

“Marines are going to experience culture shock, that’s inevitable,” said Benz. “We want to get them as acclimated as possible to the cultural climate they’re heading into.”

Instructors at ATG emphasize that this is a learning environment, and one in which they expect Marines to make mistakes.

“Our role players will respond as Afghans actually would,” said Benz. “We want our Marines to make mistakes here, so we can correct them before they meet their real counterparts in Afghanistan.”

Dauod M. Parwani, cultural advisor for RCT-5, was pleased with the performance of both the role players and RCT-5 Marines throughout the immersion exercise. He believes the accurate, authentic portrayal by the role players left the Marines better prepared to build relationships with the Afghan people during their time in Helmand province.

“Much of the mystery about that first meeting is gone,” said Parwani, a native of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province. “The Marines will be better able to interact with the people of Afghanistan.

Parwani’s experience advising the U.S. military began before joining RCT-5. He previously worked as a linguist and cultural advisor for both the Marine Corps Center for Advanced Operational Cultural Learning and Navy Seal Team 7 during a 2009 deployment to eastern Afghanistan.

Cultural immersion events like this mailmastia are critical to the counterinsurgency fight being waged by Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces. Building relationships with the people of Afghanistan is essential to the continued success of the joint effort.

“We’re only going to achieve lasting success by building the capacity of ANSF and GIRoA [Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan],” said Benz. “Developing enduring relationships with the Afghan people is how we are going to get there.”

• Date Taken: 06.07.2011
• Date Posted: 06.11.2011 12:11
• Story ID: 71948
• Location: TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US