Photo By Carlos Guerra | Role players riot against the Marines of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force...... read more read more
BARSTOW, Calif. - If you speak the language of a Middle Eastern country, can obtain security clearance, and are willing to act the role of an opposition culture in traditional clothing, you might qualify to work as a Foreign Language Speaker role-player.
The military can choose from several contractors that provide civilians skilled in various Middle Eastern languages and Arabic dialects, and who play the role of imams, angry villagers, government officials, soldiers, and interpreters. These role-players may staff military base "combat towns" made to look like Iraqi or Afghan villages - complete with mosques, homes, and outdoor markets. Or they can participate in specific military scenarios.
Recently, role-players gave authenticity to an embassy reinforcement exercise held at Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif. Feb. 9 - 12. Several men and women of Middle Eastern descent gave Marines of the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command 15.2 a taste of what it was like to be in a hostile situation among people of an unfamiliar culture.
Two Iraqi-born women hired by Glacier Technical Solutions, a Certified Alaska Native Corporation, were comfortable speaking about their participation only if their last names were not used.
Eleshwa has worked in retail where she lives in Redlands, Calif. and has been in America since 1982. She worked as a linguist with the U.S. military in Iraq from 2008 to 2010. "It's all about respect," she said of the cultural awareness training she and the other role-players provide. Americans can inadvertently insult someone in a host country when they don't understand the culture and traditions.
Gina, who works for an insurance company near Los Angeles, said, "Once a young soldier put his foot on a table (to kick back in a chair), but in our culture it's an insult to put a foot in front of your face."
"And it's an insult if you don't eat food that is offered to you," added Eleshwa. "Even if you don't like the food, you need to take it."
"They (Iraqis) are very generous," said Gina, who has been in America for 34 years.
The women participated in an impromptu Muslim funeral during the exercise. The mourners walked around the embassy carrying the shroud-covered "body" of a protester, slapping themselves, hitting their heads and chests, chanting and lamenting. The men also fired rifles, which is something Middle Easterners often do during funerals, weddings, and other events, according to Eleshwa.
Marine Pfc. Mario Martinez was one of the "Middle Eastern" role-players during the funeral and the embassy protests. "I kind of felt like them a little," he said of the protesters.
"So, we wear the same shoes," said Eleshwa, smiling. Lesson learned.
Martinez, who is from Chicago but was born in Escondido, Calif., is in the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He added, "It felt good provoking the military, trying to mess with them" in the role of a village protester.
"I jumped over the fence and stole some knee pads to test out their (the Marine guards') security," he said.
Khaled Abdulkader, a GTS role-player and an Army Reservist who deployed to Iraq in 2007, said there are 22 Arabic-speaking countries, but many, such as Iraq, have dialects that people from other Arabic countries may not understand. He has given cultural awareness training that covered Islamic religion, history and traditions. "It was an open discussion where soldiers asked questions such as how to tell a Sunni from a Shia, or a Christian from a Muslim."
He encouraged young warriors preparing to deploy to set aside their video games and spend 15 minutes on the computer, researching the culture for themselves. "A lot of human civilization started in Iraq," said Abdulkader, who was born and raised in Kuwait.
These role-players say that they miss many aspects of their lives in the Middle East, such as the close community ties and the active social life. "We'd go in and out of each other's houses," said Eleshwa. "They say your neighbor is closer to you than your brother who lives in a different city."
| Date Taken: | 02.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.20.2015 15:14 |
| Story ID: | 155043 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Role players add authenticity to simulated crises, by Cynthia McIntyre, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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