Military vs Civilian Culture

It has been my experience ever since I entered the Navy at the young age of 18 that associating oneself to different cultures is part of working in America.  In the Navy (like the rest of the armed forces) is a huge melting pot of cultures from both within and outside of our borders.  Personally, I have worked with people from every region in the Unites States and along-side first generation Americans from Central and South America, Canada, Africa, Ireland, and even Russia.  I found it particularly interesting that someone from Russia was even permitted to join the US Navy in the late 1980’s since the Cold War was still going on.

While working with the “Russian” I found some differences that actually helped him to advance faster than most other people.  One reason for this according to Richmond, Yale (1995) American people is the emphasis on and celebration of the individual.  From earliest times, Russia has placed communal good (the group) above that of the solitary individual.  In other words, while most of us young Sailors were still developing our teamwork skills his were in place from early on in his life.  This coupled with his study habits that were instilled in him from early childhood propelled him through 4 advancements in 5 years.  This was practically unheard of among our American counterparts.

As time went on and I proceeded with my military career I was introduced to leadership courses that made me aware of another cultural difference in the military – the military to civilian difference. This seemed foreign to me since, the military was part of America and we all surely represented  American Culture(s).   “Throughout the U. S. military, common elements distinguish its culture from other organizations. These elements include a high standard of discipline that helps organize and structure the armed forces, a professional ethos of loyalty and self-sacrifice that maintains order during battle, a distinct set of ceremony and etiquette that help create shared rituals and common identities, and an emphasis on group cohesion and esprit de corps that connect service members to each other. “ (Bateman 2004)

  From www.digplanet.com

Today, as a military retiree, I am finding the cultural differences challenging.  Since retiring, I have had two jobs in neither workplace have I found the professionalism nor the camaraderie I was accustomed to while in the military.  Now, we just do our work and go home; esprit-de-corps is non- existent.  In the military we train and train and train to prepare for anything that could possibly go wrong with our initial plan; in my civilian job we do not have a training program nor do we prepare for any unforeseen events that could happen during an evolution.  I miss the standard of readiness I was held to in the military and now I am not in charge or in a position to implement change.   Is this frustration or am I wrapped up in my own egocentrism?  Have I taken the ethnocentrism of the military being held to a higher standard than civilians and made it a personal belief that I cannot overcome?

 

Geoffrey W. Bateman , 2004, retrieved from http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/military_culture_us.html

Richmond, Yale, 1995, From Nyet to Da–Understanding the Russians, Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press