Culture Matters: Excuses

This video discusses how there are no excuses when it comes to cultural competency. Every soldier needs to understand the cultures they interact with. This is a part of the Culture Matters video series.
Video Transcript

Here's what I've heard other soldiers say about cultural competency: I interact with other cultures from 30,000 feet. I look at other cultures through a gunsight. If they want a diplomat, they should send a diplomat.

None of those excuses are useful when providing medical aid, or distributing food and water during a humanitarian operation. None of those excuses are the solutions when you are meeting with local leaders or coalition partners during a peacekeeping mission, or if you are patrolling through a friendly neighborhood and you need to keep that neighborhood friendly. You need more in your soldier skillset than a good sight picture and being able to squeeze a trigger. You need cultural competency. It's Army doctrine. Culture matters.