Proper Conduct

In officer training, the German armed forces are increasingly concentrating on instilling cross-cultural competence. This is a crucial factor for foreign missions. But this theme also plays a role within the armed forces themselves – because there are some 1,000 Muslim and 200 Jewish soldiers in the service today. Uta Hempelmann reports

German soldier, mosque in the background (photo: DW/dpa)
Soldiers' cross-cultural competence determines the success or failure of Bundeswehr missions abroad, such as that in Afghanistan

​​ The only thing that's "typically Turkish" about Erkan Kahraman is the way he stirs his tea: loudly. But of course that's just a cliché. His colleague Nadir Attar is blond and blue-eyed and half Syrian. Both are in their early 20s and regular soldiers.

Along with military training, the next generation of leaders in the German armed forces (Bundeswehr) also focus on academics. Kahraman and Attar are studying political science at the Federal Armed Forces University in Hamburg. It won't be long until their first foreign deployment. That's why both of them answered the question of whether, as German soldiers of the Muslim faith, they would be prepared if necessary to shoot at other Muslims with "yes."

The structure of the Bundeswehr has changed in the past few decades. While in the 1960s some 90 percent of all soldiers were Christian, today they account for only half the troops. It is estimated that around 1,000 soldiers of Muslim faith now serve in the German military, along with about 200 Jews.

When generals assure the public that members of the armed forces have more cross-cultural skills at their command than many global corporations, this is not mere posturing. Just like the big multinationals, the Bundeswehr is also at work worldwide and needs to make sure that the next generation of soldiers are fit to take on international deployments.

Knowing how to act and accepting minorities

Especially beyond German borders, cross-cultural skills are more than just a nice extra. And those at the highest levels have been aware of this for quite some time now. The importance of this area of competence is reflected in the "Central Service Regulation 10/1":

"Proper conduct when dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds, or cross-cultural competence, increases soldiers' confidence in knowing how to act and behave and ensures the acceptance of minorities in the Armed Forces. On foreign deployments, cross-cultural competence is in addition a key requirement for fulfilling the mission and for self-preservation."

Imam and Muslims during prayer time in a mosque (photo: dpa)
Religion lessons for soldiers: prospective officers can take introductory courses on Islam with the Bundeswehr

​​ The Bundeswehr is one of Germany's major training facilities. And it needs immigrants in its ranks – in the future more than ever, as just a glance at demographic trends will show. What the German armed forces offer as employer is certainly exceptional. Where else do we find officially prescribed social conduct? See Paragraph 12 of the Soldier Bill:

"The unity of the Bundeswehr is based to a large extent on comradeship. The Bundeswehr obliges all soldiers to respect the dignity, the honour and the rights of their comrades and to stand by them in times of need and danger. This includes the mutual acknowledgement, regard and respect for other beliefs."

On the theme of xenophobia, Nadir Attar says: "When people say stupid things, it's best just to ignore it." In other words: if troops demonstrate non-comradely behaviour in violation of Paragraph 12, the proper response is to act in accordance with Paragraph 12.

Lessons on value conflicts and cultural faux pas

Cross-cultural competence has been part of the basic curriculum for those doing compulsory military service since 2006, but up until now has at the most filled a few hours. Professional soldiers learn more on this subject. Their training has to be more thorough, because they will potentially act as their country's ambassadors abroad. What's expected of them is not tactless behaviour, but rather impeccable conduct.

"Life skills lessons" attempts to demonstrate just what that entails. One module treats value conflicts. The lessons are designed to help soldiers be aware of their own and others' values, training them how to behave with greater assurance:

What do I do when my comrade in Afghanistan is openly flirting on the street with a veiled woman? Where does friendship end and false conduct begin? All that is taught in the classroom is that it is wrong to flirt with a veiled woman. But this information alone is already very helpful for some. Those of different faiths are not free to ignore the religious precepts of others. Comparable cultural faux pas are lurking around every corner.

"Tangible" introduction to Islam

The closer the time of deployment draws near, the more detailed the knowledge taught. Courses geared to prepare soldiers for their specific mission teach them all about their destination country. The Armed Forces University in Hamburg offers additional courses as well.

Students and prospective officers can sign up for "Cross-Cultural Communication" with Latifa Kühn, a German Muslim with Afghan roots. Course contents cover a wide range of topics: the basic principles of sociology and psychology ("Is fear a universal emotion?"), fundamental knowledge of Islam, the mentality and social structure of the population.

Learning also takes place through practical exercises: on an excursion to the Afghan Museum students can for example see what a Muslim prayer rug looks like and familiarize themselves with Islamic religious practices. These kinds of "tangible lessons" are particularly illuminating for seminar participants of German origin. After all, they show that "Muslims are more diverse than some politicians or media would have you think," as one student remarked.

Psychic balancing act

All of this provides an idea of the extent of the psychic balancing act soldiers must perform in their training and their foreign deployment. While their cultural sensitivity is being trained, so is their proficiency in handling their weapon.

photo: AP
Funeral ceremony for a Bundeswehr soldier killed in action in Afghanistan. "In the global theater, cultural competence is more than just a nice extra"

​​ "That is the challenge of today's missions," says Elmar Wiesendahl, professor and director of the Department of Social Sciences at the Leadership Academy, the highest educational facility of the Bundeswehr, where high-ranking officers i.e. future generals, are trained. Soldiers must keep themselves under control and demonstrate "a certain robustness," explains Wiesendahl. "With purely hegemonial behaviour, the mission is doomed to fail."

The thin line to be walked between empathy on the one side and combat readiness on the other is also manifested in the choice of means used in crisis regions. When fronts no longer consist of nationality, culture or religion, but rather of extremism and radicalism, it is no longer possible to tell friend from foe at first glance.

Learning from foreign missions

At the Bundeswehr Leadership Academy in Hamburg, seminar participants discuss military issues and security policy. An average of 500 staff officers participate in training and advanced training every day, 100 of them from foreign, including Islamic, countries.

A few years ago, no one would have dared giving this the title "intercultural dialogue," without risking loud laughter. Today, the concept doesn't even summon a smirk anymore. This rethinking is part of the process of transformation from recruits to deployment army. Troops stationed abroad quickly gather very concrete practical experience, from which the German Bundeswehr has drawn its own consequences. A curriculum on cross-cultural competence is accordingly being developed at the Leadership Academy.

The General Staff courses are taught by an international set of lecturers. The cross-cultural material is brought to bear in seminars for executive officers or is the focus of a course dealing with violence and its specific manifestations in the cultures of the world: from the Maoris to the German glorification of war heroes and its implications.

Military alliance on the basis of cross-cultural dialogue

The fact is that every military alliance is based on cross-cultural dialogue. In the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, there are 40,000 soldiers involved from 37 nations. Who can say how many misunderstandings occur here? Or how much bewilderment an alliance partner, for example an Azerbaijani, might feel at the sight of a German soldier?

We may presume that NATO also entertains debates about different mentalities. For example, why the leadership behaviour of the German military is different from that of the British or the French. People say that, with the Germans, you have to give feedback on every little thing. Or that a German sets the goal but leaves it up to the person in question to figure out how to get there. It is probably only a matter of time before NATO as well introduces courses on "Diversity Management."

Ute Hempelmann

© Qantara.de 2008

The author, Ute Hempelmann, was born in 1963 and lives in Hamburg. She works for ARD radio stations and writes for various newspapers and magazines.

Translated from the German by Jennifer Taylor

Qantara.de

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