Understanding the Development of the Intercultural Sensitivity of Personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces

Abstract

Given the nature of recent and anticipated military engagements, there is growing interest in infusing more cultural learning into U.S. military training to prepare military personnel more effectively to respond to security challenges in international theaters of operation as part of increasingly diverse U.S. Armed Forces. Costly errors and painful lessons from U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq since the early 2000s amplified this need and convinced the Department of Defense that its military personnel must have the necessary knowledge, skills, and intercultural competence to meet the demands of frequent and challenging complex multicultural engagements. This study contributes significantly to the state of knowledge about the level of intercultural sensitivity of U.S. military personnel and the personal and professional factors underlying these orientations. A multimethod protocol involving the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), surveys, and in-depth interviews generated data on 64 service members, including enlisted personnel and officers, who studied at a military language school from 2006–2021. The research revealed that a majority of subjects has Minimization and Defense/Polarization orientations, which is consistent with other professionals, and that most significantly overestimated their intercultural sensitivity to a greater degree than subjects in other studies. Less than five percent scored in the lowest category, Denial. Less than five percent scored in the fourth-highest category, Acceptance, while none scored at the highest level, Adaptation. Personal and demographic factors contributing most to intercultural sensitivity were family upbringing, living in culturally diverse areas, intercultural encounters, foreign language proficiency, and ethnicity and race. The most influential professional factors were integrating culture into language training, ongoing cultural training, cultural knowledge, frequency of intercultural encounters in multiple contexts, and leadership attitudes. The findings provide valuable insights for scholars, policy makers, curriculum developers, military leaders, and others actively involved in working with and training U.S. military personnel.