Photo By Marcus Fichtl | A Dutch barge passes under the Waalbrug in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, during Western...... read more read more
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NIJMEGEN, Netherlands - Western Accord 15 participants walked cobblestone streets, ate at cafes lined along century old buildings, and crossed the bridges dotting the Dutch waterways.
The bridges are why they came; the newly shared culture is why they stayed.
In the September of 1944, Allied forces undertook the largest airborne operation in World War II, Operation Market Garden. American, British and Polish paratroopers were to capture Dutch bridges from the German army at Arnhem, Nijmegen and Eindhoven while they awaited relief from the XXX Corps. The operation ended in failure, the bridges were too far.
First Lt. Michael Mulligan, cultural day ambassador, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Edwardsville, Illinois, spoke about Operation Market Garden at the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem and the Waalbrug in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, during Western Accord’s cultural day, July 26, 2015.
The American, British and Polish airborne troops hadn’t examined the cobblestone streets they walked upon, there was, according to Mulligan, “confirmation bias.”
“Confirmation bias, everyone believed the Germans were done, all were willing to ignore the indicators that the operation may be a bad idea,” said Mulligan. “Everyone only saw what they wanted to, people only believed what they wanted to believe. “
For Sgt. Jonathon Reinhardt, a logistician, from Huntsville, Texas, with the 536th Brigade Support Battalion, Texas National Guard, this was his first trip to Europe and his eyes were wide open.
“We explored the town, went down to the river, and saw architecture that’s unique to this country and different to the United States,” said Reinhardt. “It was a totally different experience than a U.S. city.”
A break from the fast-paced academics and operations in the war rooms of Winkelman, Kazerne, the Dutch base where the exercise is held, the five hour tour to Nijmegan allowed the African, European and American partners to examine why they all came together in the Netherlands.
“Military culture in many ways is similar,” said Mulligan. “But when we get deeper into the planning process, start discussing the missions, the values, the priorities, different cultural backgrounds come into the play; because we are talking about a mission in a culturally diverse area.”
Mulligan further explained the United Nation’s mandated Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali is happening in these countries’ backyard. Mali, while not represented during the exercise, is part of the Economic Community of Western African States, a fifteen-member trade union. The African partners here understand the culture conflict between the nomadic and urbanized people and prioritize certain locations and actions, U.S. planners may not be able to see.
Reinhardt said what you need to see is the cultural dots and how to connect them. He taught his African counterparts the ins-and-outs of Texas, while they taught them about life in Africa.
“Understanding the culture of who are fighting, fighting with, who is nearby, is vital to understanding warfare,” said Mulligan. “At the end of the day culture drives all our decisions. If you don’t understand cultural markers, you may not initially recognize what they value, where they see it, and how they will fight for it.“
Mulligan believes while how we see the future may differ, the horizon is the same.
“They will lead us into more peacekeeping operations, while we increase their ability to preserve the peace in Africa,” said Mulligan. “Right here we are just starting the possibilities of working with our African partners, we’ve only begun to explore what we can learn from them what they can teach us.”
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2015 05:24 |
| Story ID: | 171298 |
| Location: | NIJMEGEN, NL |
| Hometown: | EDWARDSVILLE, IL, US |
| Hometown: | HUNTSVILLE, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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