Leathernecks sharpen focus on cultural awareness.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 March 2006
• Author: Kennedy, Harold
• Published date: 01 March 2006
• Author: Kennedy, Harold

QUANTICO, VA. -- The Marine Corps has launched an effort to improve the ability of its troops to cope with the complex cultural issues that they are encountering in anti-terrorism and counterinsurgency operations.

Here, at the headquarters of the Corps' Combat Development Command, the Marines in May 2005 established a center for advanced operational culture learning. The center's director, retired Marine Col. Jeff Bearor, told National Defense that he learned the value of cultural awareness firsthand as a career infantryman with considerable experience in intelligence work. He was an operations officer with the CIA Counterterrorism Center and later commanded the recruit training regiment at the Corps' Parris Island, S.C., boot camp.

Cultural awareness, he said, is nothing new for...