Unfamiliar allies: Australian cross-cultural communication in Afghanistan and Iraq during the war on terror

Unfamiliar allies: Australian cross-cultural communication in Afghanistan and Iraq during the war on terror

This chapter explores the social history of Australian military communication with their United States and Dutch allies in Afghanistan and Iraq. In spite of a long history of military association with the United States, challenges emerged both from the management of American expectations and from everyday Australian interactions in an ultra-patriotic American military culture. As subordinate partner Australians understood American military language and communication, frequently adopting lexical aspects of the American military, but despite some differences cross-cultural communication problems were overcome. Australians in Afghanistan worked with the Dutch, a relatively unfamiliar ally with no recent history of shared military cooperation. The open and progressive social culture of the Netherlands was reflected in aspects of Netherlands military communication and practice, and it became apparent that Dutch liberal social values and consensus based military culture differed from Australian military expectations. Despite military cooperation in war and the high levels of English spoken by talented Dutch soldiers, a degree of distance remained between the Dutch and Australian military. Understanding the ways in which ordinary members of the military understand cross-cultural communication with allies will do much to advance understanding and shape future experiences

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