Culture In The Military

Understanding culture is imperative for the United States Military to succeed in our mission around the world, especially in today’s War on Terror. Soldiers need to understand what culture is and how to win the hearts and minds of the local populous for many reasons, one reason is to guarantee that we are not creating an environment of distrust which could lead to more people opposing out force. According to "Merriam-Webster" (2017), “culture is defined as the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.” Many characteristics define what culture truly is; how it works which result in a concrete understanding of how people can come …show more content…
The second characteristic is that culture is social, which means that is the social interaction of people and what is deemed reasonable within that group. The third component is accumulative and made over time. The fourth characteristic is that culture is always changing, furthermore, customs become acceptable over time, and others are eschewed due to the evolution of people and their environment. And lastly, culture is responsive to the physical environment, things such as infrastructure, terrain, and weather all have a lasting effect on how a culture will evolve (Farooq, 2011). Without the in-depth understanding of culture, leaders cannot lead effectively; culture is vital to the understanding of how people react and …show more content…
Uganda also has two rainy seasons and two dry seasons during a year ("World Weather and Climate Information," 2016). According to John Upton, of Scientific America “climate change being linked to conditions that can fuel war and brutality.” Uganda is susceptible to climate change, and the secondary and third order effects of climate change can lead to people lashing out and becoming move violent and lead to crime, and people becoming resistant towards their government (Upton, 2016).Recently climate change is linked to appalling weather in Uganda; this weather has put an extreme Burdon on the growth of countless crops such as coffee beans which is one of Uganda’s leading exports. Flooding in Uganda has left countless people dead in various areas of the country. Uganda’s government has invested in learning about newer agricultural techniques to reduce flooding and to put a higher yield on crops ("New Agriculturist," 2012). Although the weather is ideal for producing voluminous exported goods around the world, Uganda does have a high poverty rate, resulting in people resorting to smuggling. Recently, there was a tax imposed on cigarettes which have led several smugglers to start smuggling in cigarettes, this problem is colossal in the country, and the police struggle to keep the crime down (Odeke,