On Culture: Know the Enemy and Know Thyself–– Giap, Abrams, and Victory A Monograph by MAJ Daijiro (Don) Kanase United States Army School of Advanced Military Studies United States Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 2016 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188 The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. 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DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT The US Army's capstone doctrine on unified land warfare states that leaders be culturally astute. How does one become culturally astute and what is its relevance? Understanding culture, especially one's own culture, is not just a branch specific duty; it is every US Army leader's responsibility. Becoming culturally astute requires knowing oneself and one's enemy, which is not merely an analysis of military capabilities, but a deeper philosophical and cultural understanding of identity, which may influence or even drive certain behaviors. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Culture; Vietnam War; National Culture; Organizational Culture; Personal Identity; Taoism; Confucianism; Christianity; Operational Art; United States; US Army; Creighton Abrams; North Vietnam; North Vietnamese Army; Ho Chi Minh; Vo Nguyen Giap; Heritage; Philosophy; Values 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON ABSTRACT OF a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE MAJ Daijiro (Don) Kanase PAGES 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) (U) (U) (U) (U) 71 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8/98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 Monograph Approval Page Name of Candidate: Major Daijiro (Don) Kanase Monograph Title: On Culture: Know the Enemy and Know Thyself–Giap, Abrams, and Victory Approved by: __________________________________, Monograph Director Peter J. Schifferle, PhD __________________________________, Seminar Leader Dyrald Cross, Col ___________________________________, Director, School of Advanced Military Studies Henry A. Arnold III, COL Accepted this 26th day of May 2016 by: ___________________________________, Director, Graduate Degree Programs Robert F. Baumann, PhD The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student author and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other government agency. (References to this study should include the foregoing statement.) Fair use determination or copyright permission has been obtained for the inclusion of pictures, maps, graphics, and any other works incorporated into this manuscript. A work of the United States Government is not subject to copyright, however further publication or sale of copyrighted images is not permissible ii Abstract On Culture: Know the Enemy and Know Thyself—Giap, Abrams, and Victory, by MAJ Daijiro (Don) Kanase, 71 pages. The US Army’s capstone doctrine on unified land warfare states that leaders must be culturally astute. How does a military leader become culturally astute and for what purpose? Understanding culture, especially one’s own culture, is not just a branch specific duty; it is every US Army leader’s responsibility. Becoming culturally astute requires knowing oneself and one’s enemy, which is not merely an analysis of military capabilities, but a deeper philosophical and cultural understanding of identity, which may influence or even drive certain behaviors. Knowing oneself is not an intuitive judgment, but a deliberate analysis of one’s society, military organization, and personal identity. Understanding one’s cultural identity and an adversary’s cultural identity enables leaders to better anticipate future action. The author conducted a case study of General Vo Nguyen Giap and General Creighton Abrams to analyze the relationships between society’s cultural influences, organizational influences, personal identity, and behavior. The US Army’s fundamental solution towards readiness should include a process for cultural understanding for all US Army leaders. iii Contents Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................... vi Figures ........................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 14 North Vietnamese National Culture .............................................................................................. 17 National Heritage ............................................................................................................. 17 National Philosophy ......................................................................................................... 20 National Values ................................................................................................................ 24 North Vietnamese Army Culture ................................................................................................... 26 Organizational Heritage ................................................................................................... 26 Organizational Philosophy ............................................................................................... 28 Organizational Values ...................................................................................................... 31 General Vo Nguyen Giap .............................................................................................................. 33 Personal Heritage ............................................................................................................. 34 Personal Philosophy ......................................................................................................... 36 Personal Values ................................................................................................................ 38 US National Culture ...................................................................................................................... 42 National Heritage ............................................................................................................. 43 National Philosophy ......................................................................................................... 44 National Values ................................................................................................................ 46 US Army Culture…………………………………………………………………………………48 Organizational Heritage..………………………………………………………………...48 Organizational Philosophy………………..……………………………………………...50 Organizational Values….………………….……………………………………………..52 iv General Creighton Abrams ............................................................................................................ 55 Personal Heritage ............................................................................................................. 55 Personal Philosophy ......................................................................................................... 56 Personal Values ................................................................................................................ 60 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 62 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 66 v Acronyms ADP Army Doctrine Publication ADRP Army Doctrine Reference Publication FM Field Manual JP Joint Publication US United States vi Figures 1 Relationship model of worldviews of a nation, army organization, and individual……..13 2 Vo Nguyen Giap (left) and his mentor Ho Chi Minh (right) in 1945..…………………..36 3 Creighton Abrams as commander of US Military Assistance Command–Vietnam in 1968……………………………...…………………………….……………………...58 vii Introduction One who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes meet with defeat. One who knows neither the enemy nor himself will invariably be defeated in every engagement. ―Sun-Tzu, The Art of War US Army Doctrine Reference Publication 3-0 Unified Land Operations states, “Army leaders must remain…culturally astute.”1 The capstone doctrine on US Army unified land warfare asserts that leaders must understand culture, and emphasizes that leaders performing in multinational operations must understand cultural differences among joint, interagency, and multinational forces. The main research question is exactly how does a military leader become “culturally astute” and for what purpose? Chinese military theorist Sun-Tzu provides an approach. Understanding culture, particularly one’s own culture, is not just a branch-specific duty, but is every US Army leader’s responsibility. Cultural identity affects how a leader thinks, behaves, and makes decisions. Specifically, cultural identity affects how a military leader conducts operational art. Joint Publication 3-0 Joint Operations defines operational art as “the cognitive approach by commanders and staffs…to develop strategies, campaigns, and operations to organize and employ military forces by integrating ends, ways, and means.”2 Initially understanding one’s own culture exposes tacit biases that may drive specific behaviors and decisions in pursuing strategic objectives. A person’s cultural identity is an embodiment of 1 Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 3-0, Unified Land Operations ( W a s h i n g t o n , D C : G o v e r n m e n t P rinting Office, 2012), 1-5. 2 Joint Publication (JP) 3-0 Joint Operations (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2011), GL-14; ADRP 3-0, Unified Land Operations, 4-1. ADRP 3-0 Unified Land Operations defines operational art as “the pursuit of strategic objectives, in whole or in part, through the arrangement of tactical actions in time, space, and purpose.” 1 societal culture and organizational culture, which influences behavior. Understanding one’s cultural identity and an adversary’s cultural identity enables US Army commanders and staffs to better understand the operational environment and anticipate future action.3 Becoming culturally astute requires knowing oneself and one’s enemy, which is not merely an analysis of military capabilities, but a deeper philosophical and cultural understanding of identity, which may influence or even drive certain behaviors. Knowing oneself is not an intuitive judgment, but a deliberate analysis of one’s society, military organization, and personal identity. Sun-Tzu asserted that knowing oneself and one’s enemy could result in victory.4 Using an inductive approach, the author analyzed salient aspects and relationships between North Vietnamese society and the North Vietnamese Army to assess linkages with General Vo Nguyen Giap’s actions in the mid-1900s. Then, the author analyzed salient aspects and relationships between US society and the US Army to assess linkages with General Creighton Abrams’s actions in the mid-1900s. Whether an agent is a country, army, or person, understanding an agent’s heritage, philosophy, and values form three interrelated criteria to assess how one becomes culturally astute.5 The author chose the three criteria based on an assessment of patterns that emerged from extensive research. A pattern of primary, secondary, and theoretical resources describing heritage, philosophy, and values emerged. Heritage consists of events, traditions, and beliefs from an 3 Sun-Tzu, Sun-Tzu: The Art of Warfare, trans. Roger Ames (New York City: Ballantine B o o k s , 1 9 9 3 ) , 1 0 3 . 4 Sun-Tzu, The Art of War: Complete Texts and Commentaries, trans. Thomas Cleary (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2000), 85. 5 Laura M. Ahearn, “Language and Agency,” Annual Review of Anthropology 30 (October 2001): 113, accessed November 29, 2015, http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/ 10.1146/annurev.anthro.30.1.109?journalCode=anthro. Agency refers to the capacity to intentionally act. According to Ahearn, agency extends beyond an individual to any group of individuals. Throughout this monograph, the author assessed each country, army, and individual as a unique agent. 2