Total force cross-cultural competence examined at DEOMI symposium

  • Published
  • By Bryan Ripple
  • Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --  About 100 Defense Department and government leaders, practitioners, operators, and researchers joined together at the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute here to discuss the importance of cross-cultural competence relating to the effectiveness of the total force June 30 and July 1. 

Cross-cultural competence, also known as 3C, refers to the capability one possesses to effectively interact with others from different cultures or background regardless of the culture to which they must adapt. 

The idea is to provide a more culturally adaptive military and civilian force. This cultural adeptness and adaptability refers not only to interactions within the international context, but is also a vital performance determinant for effective leadership and teamwork within our own diverse organizations. 

The event was a DOD symposium with the theme of "The Role of Cross-Cultural Competence in Organizational and Mission Success." 

The event was cosponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the Air Force. The Personnel and Readiness sponsor was Gail McGinn, the deputy undersecretary of Defense for plans, performing the duties of the undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness. Although she is currently performing the duties of the personnel and readiness position, her other job is DOD's senior language authority responsible for overseeing the Defense language and culture program. This experience has given Mrs. McGinn the opportunity to see firsthand the importance of understanding the impact of cultural diversity in virtually everything DOD does. 

"The services have been working on the importance of cultural capabilities for our total force for several years, and I applaud them for taking the initiative to provide the requisite training and education for their members in order to meet their operational requirements," Mrs. McGinn said. "However, this symposium offers us a unique opportunity to take stock of what is already being done, to identify those best practices that have proven their worth on both the training fields and the battlefields, and to build on those successes to address the challenges and opportunities of today's global security environment."

The senior military leader and Air Force cosponsor was Maj. Gen. Robert R. Allardice, the director of strategy, plans and policy at U.S. Central Command in MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. The general addressed what he views the role that 3C plays in today's military. 

"As we engage in the world today, much like we have the past couple of centuries, our capacity to identify the challenges in each individual culture; to be able to interact within; and then embrace the challenges of the day to create an effect requires us to understand the culture of both the target country and our own culture so that we can better be able to accomplish what we need," General Allardice said. "Our purpose here is to identify the competencies required at each level of the military for us to train as we prepare to better interact as we embrace foreign cultures."

One of the DOD's leading researchers in the area of cross-cultural competency today is Dr. Daniel P. McDonald, who is the executive director for DEOMI's research, development and strategic initiatives. He said he believes that this event held at DEOMI was the perfect forum to bring the services and DOD together in order to forge the strategic way ahead. 

"We socialized the concept of 3C with the senior leadership, practitioners and scientists in attendance, by defining how 3C can impact our organizational and operational successes. The group also discussed the synergistic relationship of 3C to EO/EEO and diversity management initiatives, and the development of language proficiency and regional expertise. Discussion also centered on the role of 3C in DOD and interagency concepts and operations such as irregular warfare and counterinsurgency operations, to name a few," Dr. McDonald said. 

"On the second day, symposium attendees were organized into working groups to capture their ideas regarding how 3C may best be institutionalized across the DOD processes as a mission-critical capability. Implementation strategies such as research, education, training and leadership development were examined," Dr. McDonald said. "We had the right mix of people at the table to present ideas for how 3C may be integrated into our human capital strategies and practices in order to ensure a more adaptive, culturally capable, future force."