Basic Public Affairs Specialist Course Public affairs overseas What do you think are the chances of you being stationed overseas at some point in your career, whether permanently assigned or deployed to a temporary location? Public affairs is one of the most deployed specialties in the military. Is it different overseas than what we are used to in the United States? How many of you have ever heard of military folks who, when they are stationed overseas, hang out in the barracks and never venture outside the military installation because it s too this, or too that, and simply not American enough for them? So to function effectively in your public affairs role, hold dearly to the PA 101 rule: Know your audience. In this lesson, you will be looking at some specific things you must consider when getting to know your audiences overseas. As public affairs specialists, you cannot get away with that. Your job, with regard to communicating to and for audiences, becomes even more complex in overseas locations as your external audience those outside your installation absolutely includes the host nation population, and your internal audience includes local national employees. Language Culture Religion Political Systems The Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland 1
Why public affairs overseas? Overseas, the country s local citizens both on and off the installation are interested in what our service members are doing in their country. They re also interested in Americans in general. In some locations, the military and associated civilians on your installation may be the first or only Americans the local citizens will ever meet. As public affairs specialists overseas, you can help the people on your installation in this regard. You, as public affairs specialists, will play a key role in helping make or maintain a favorable impression of Americans, the U.S. military or of the United States of America itself to the host nation. So let s look at the 10 categories of host nation rules or sensitivities. 2 The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs
Host nation sensitivities When overseas, we as members of the U.S. military community, must remember that we are guests in these countries, and as guests, we must follow the rules of our hosts. We call these rules host nation sensitivities, and group them into 10 separate, but often overlapping categories. 1. Language The language category covers both verbal and nonverbal communications. Nearly 6,000 different languages are spoken in the world today, and even if English is most widely spoken language in the world, as some experts believe, outside the United States, it s very arrogant to expect citizens of another country to speak American English or to use American gestures. We must learn to communicate in our host nation s language, even if it is just a few useful phrases. 2. Culture We must be respectful of other cultures and not compare it unfavorably to ours. Different doesn t mean bad or good, it simply means different. You ll see as we go through these 10 categories that many of them are very much intertwined with others like our next category religion, which can impact on the culture of a nation. 3. Religion Freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed right in the United States. Just as this view of religion has impacted our culture, political system, social values, history and our laws, religion in other countries can have a great impact on their own country s culture, political system, social values, history and laws. The overseas locations where you may be stationed may not have the freedom of religion that Americans are accustomed to, but we must be respectful of these different views and practices. What do you think we should do as military members in overseas locations in which we work side by side with Muslims? How can we show that we are respectful of their different religious views and practices? What can you do as a public affairs specialist with regard to this? Just as others of these host nation sensitivity categories overlap, the next host nation sensitivity category we ll discuss political systems often have religious aspects. 4. Political System Most countries use a political system different from ours, so it is important you as public affairs specialists recognize this and become aware of what kind of political system exists in the overseas location you are assigned to. Examples of other political systems include a theocracy and monarchy. A theocracy is a government by divinely guided officials. Afghanistan is considered an Islamic Republic, and although it has a The Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland 3
democratically elected president and a national assembly, it is widely known that some of its laws are influenced by the country s religious leaders. In a pure theocracy, the head of government is thought to have an actual connection with a divine ruler. But most political systems are not purely one system. A monarchy is government by a hereditary chief of state who usually has life tenure, but his or her powers can vary from nominal to absolute. Saudi Arabia has a monarchy with a Council of Ministers and Consultative Council, but is considered to have theocratic aspects to its political system as parts of its legal system are based on Islamic Law. Its constitution is made up of the Holy Qur an, Shari a, and the Basic Law. A country s political system can influence its social values and vice versa. 5. Social Values In a nutshell, the social values of a nation is that nation s perspective on life. Many of a country s social values can be determined by examining its laws and religious beliefs. As you can see, many of these host rules we should follow or the host nation sensitivities you should consider when you re overseas in order to perform more effectively the communications professional role overlap each other and are often intertwined. Muslim women wear head scarves for traditional reasons, and because it is in keeping with the commandments of Allah to demonstrate modesty. And not only is this a Muslim tradition, some Jewish and Christian sects also have this practice. The next category of host nation sensitivity is economics -- goods, services, money. 6. Economics For military members overseas, the number one economic consideration is probably the exchange rate. In Turkey, in the late 1990s, the U.S. dollar was worth about 600,000 Turkish Lira in 2005, the currency changed, including dropping the zeros; today one U.S. dollar will buy about 1 and ½ Turkish Lira but back then, Americans were millionaires especially since a loaf of fresh bread was 20 cents and a kilo of tomatoes was a quarter! But perhaps another important consideration to take into account for you as public affairs specialists is the economic state of the country in which your installation overseas is located. We should be concerned about the economic state of the host country because Americans may be seen to the citizens in the host nation as very rich. Americans don t purposefully flaunt their wealth but we simply must be aware that we could present a very unfavorable impression if we act like big shots throwing our money around. Our behavior could be very insulting to the host nation s people. Another way our behavior can be insulting to host nation citizens when we re in their country is if we aren t aware of the history of their country especially with relation to ours. 7. History Most citizens are very familiar with their own country s history, and as the 4 The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs
history of a nation often determines its present state and impacts on its culture, social values, its laws and many other factors as guests in their country, we should be aware of their country s history, especially the history it shares with the United States. The host nation citizens you may encounter as public affairs specialists in overseas locations while doing your job may have attitudes positive or negative that reflect some of this shared history. You can look through history and find interesting examples of United States involvement with other countries histories that could impact how people in those countries feel today. What about the collaborative relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union that was instrumental in defeating Nazi Germany in 1945, followed by the Cold War and the United States helping the Afghanistan rebels fight the Soviet Union during the Soviet occupation beginning in 1979? What about the United States history with Japan over the decades? Being aware of even the history of the host nation with other nations with whom you as a public affairs specialist will come into contact can also help you function in your role more effectively. 8. Law Just as each state in the United States has its own laws, each country also has its own legal codes. These different laws can potentially lead members of the U.S. military community into legal troubles with the host nation. As guests in a country where we have military installations, we are under obligation to follow the rules of that host nation. Status of Forces Agreements, or or SOFAs, are the negotiated legal documents that spell out how the United States will operate in the host country, including the day-to-day business activities. More importantly, SOFAs laws pertaining to civil and criminal jurisdiction of military service members when they are accused of a crime. American civilians, including military family members, are subject to the host nation laws at all times. But SOFAs are different for each country, and they are always subject to re-negotiation with the host country. EXAMPLE: In 1995, the SOFA in Japan was revised to include that the United States would consider handing over the jurisdiction of service members accused of violent crimes, such as rape and murder, to Japanese authorities, before indictment. The case of a Marine Maj.Michael Brown - being accused of attempted rape in Okinawa in 2002 tested this revision. The United States actually turned him over to the Japanese authorities and following a 19-month trial, on July 8, 2004, Brown was convicted of attempting an indecent act and destruction of property but was acquitted of the rape charge. The court gave Brown a one-year prison sentence, suspended for three years, and fined him $1,400. As public affairs specialists overseas, you will integral in helping communicate and/or reminding the people at your installation of SOFA and other host nation laws. Another category of host nation sensitivity you should consider overseas as public affairs specialists although as potentially controversial as Law is geography. The Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland 5
9. Geography Where is the country in relation to other countries and bodies of water? What are its geographical attributes? Geography is another factor that influences a country s culture, politics, economics, and history of a country. Author and Rhodes Scholar Robert Penn Warren said, History is all explained by geography. When does heavy fighting take place in Afghanistan? After the spring thaw when the mountain passes are again passable. 10. Mission The mission refers to why the United States is in a particular country and what we are doing there. 6 The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs
Basic Public Affairs Specialist Course Conclusion All of you at one time in your careers may be assigned overseas, and as a PA specialist, it is your responsibility to know the host national sensitivities and research all aspects of that country that will affect not only your unit s mission but your fellow service members as well. The Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland 7
References (1987) SECNAVINST 5720.44A: Public affairs policy and regulation. http://www.cpf.navy.mil/subsite/ehimemaru/legal/exhibit_11.pdf Retrieved May 04, 2009 8 The Center of Excellence for Visual Information and Public Affairs