Among the many words of wisdom from anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, he once said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” These words embody an important lesson for the U.S. military: Investing in understanding one’s allies is a worthy endeavor.
Four decades ago, a young and unassuming graduate of Japan’s Seikei University moved to California, where he undertook an American education. He spent the next three semesters as a full-time student at the University of Southern California (USC), studying political science and public policy. Moving back to Japan in the late 1970s, he joined the Japanese labor force, working for a national steel manufacturer. This young man did not return to USC until 2015, at the conclusion of a week in which he was hosted by President Barack Obama at an official state dinner and gave a historic address to a joint session of Congress as prime minister of Japan. Shinzo Abe was an important ally to the United States, and the roots of his connection to the American people were formed in the halls of USC.
Two years after future Prime Minister Abe returned to Japan, a 20-year-old Kenyan man arrived at Amherst College in Massachusetts—graduating four years later with degrees in political science and economics. Four decades later, in mid-2019, he delivered one of the keynote addresses at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Former Boston resident Uhuru Kenyatta had ascended to the presidency of Kenya in 2017 and become a key player in regional and international politics. Today, Kenya is a critical U.S. ally in the region. The connection President Kenyatta has with the American people stems from his time as a student at Amherst.
These are not the only stories of world leaders who began their journeys at U.S. educational institutions. The value of such interactions in building communication, cooperation, and understanding between peoples and nations is evident.
The Power of Connection
The strength of the U.S. military does not lie solely in its combat capabilities. Service men and women serve as ambassadors, carrying forward the nation’s ideas and ideals. As such, they must be not only technically and tactically accomplished, but also emotionally skillful. Against the backdrop of great power competition, the United States must capitalize on their ability to connect with the people of other nations—to work together in common cause, combat terrorism, facilitate the open flow of commerce, and bring aid to those who are suffering. The National Security Strategy says as much:
Identify opportunities for commerce and cooperation, and facilitate the cultural, educational, and people-to-people exchanges that create the networks of current and future political, civil society, and educational leaders who will extend a free and prosperous world.
In this area, few were as visionary as Army Major General George Olmsted, who in the late 1950s created a foundation focused on providing military officers the opportunity to be educated abroad. Many military leaders have benefited from this program: Former Commander, U.S. Central Command, and current U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid spent two years studying at the University of Jordan in Amman, and former Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, and Commander, Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, Admiral James Foggo earned a diploma in defense and strategic studies from the University of Strasbourg.
Such academic exchanges result in deep cultural understanding, but many levels of people-to-people exchange can help build the indispensable connective tissue between nations. To harness the vast potential of exchanges, the military must advance a three-pronged approach.
First, while recognizing achievements in educating and sensitizing service members to other cultures, the military must do more to encourage people to develop these skills and this understanding. Military leaders must speak clearly on the importance of people-to-people exchanges and reflect these convictions in strategic guidance to the forces. This should guide the educational opportunities that service men and women pursue.
Second, military leaders should promote engagement opportunities for cultural growth at different levels. Degree programs tend to produce the most tangible results in terms of direct, observable impact; however, there is a reservoir of untapped opportunities for service men and women to engage in short-term exchanges that yield large returns. For example, the U.S.–Japan Leadership Program brings together competitively selected delegates for two weeklong conferences over a two-year period to “develop a network of communication, friendship and understanding among the next generation of leaders in each country.”1 Similar annual programs are hosted by the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations, the French–American Foundation, the U.S.–Spain Council, and many others. This past summer, near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, a cohort of 20 American and 20 German delegates at the American Council on Germany’s Young Leaders Conference worked on a wide range of transatlantic issues, ranging from trade to NATO spending.
Third, the military should create a fellowship program that concentrates on relationship building with countries of critical importance to U.S. military strategy. Time dedicated to training and educating service men and women is at a premium, so the fellowship should be modeled after short-term exchange programs to minimize the impact to existing courses of study needed to develop technical and tactical competencies. The fellowship would be designed to allow next-generation military leaders to develop critical country- and region-specific understanding, that is, to see the people, to find commonalities, and to appreciate challenges from another point of view.
This mind-set is perhaps best captured by Olmsted Foundation director Bruce Scott, who said the Olmsted Scholars Program “does not teach you to think outside the box, but rather puts you outside the box and teaches you to think.”
For the past century, the military has capitalized on international exchanges with allies and has grown opportunities for people-to-people exchanges around the world. Today, it must build on its record of success and engage in even more dynamic exchanges to understand allies—as well as potential competitors—and promulgate the ideals of a just force that is accountable and responsive to its nation and to those it protects abroad. In doing so, the U.S. military can grow its core of soldiers, sailors, and Marines who are technically, tactically, and perhaps most important, emotionally skillful.
1. The U.S. Japan Leadership Program, www.usjlp.org/about/.
