Cultural Awareness and Cross Cultural Communication: Combat Multipliers for Leaders in the Next Millennium

摘要

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 ended the Cold War. This resulted in a change of the United States National Security Strategy from containment of communist aggression to engagement worldwide to protect national interests. 'Global Meliorism', the aim to spread democracy endorses a strategy of engagement. Globalization, the process of accelerated economic, technological, cultural and political integration continues to bring citizens of all continents closer together. The result of the United States National Security Strategy, is the United States military involved worldwide implementing portions of the engagement strategy. Peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and at times combat operations are conducted. A commonality in all these operations is United States officers and soldiers coordinating and interacting with host nation populaces, government and civil leaders, members of non-governmental agencies, soldiers of foreign armies (allied/coalition/host nation/militias) to accomplish an assigned mission.