WEBVTT 00:00.440 --> 00:02.551 shall we launch right into it ? And I 00:02.551 --> 00:04.720 did not get a lot of background 00:04.720 --> 00:07.780 information theater about Arabic 00:07.780 --> 00:10.100 culture in general , Iraq more 00:10.100 --> 00:12.211 specifically and certainly the muslim 00:12.211 --> 00:15.060 religion and then here in theater , as 00:15.060 --> 00:18.060 we approach the the month of Ramadan , 00:18.080 --> 00:20.840 we had very intensive training for all 00:20.840 --> 00:23.240 soldiers and marines . So they would 00:23.240 --> 00:25.700 understand how significant the month of 00:25.700 --> 00:27.740 Ramadan is and the fasting that is 00:27.740 --> 00:29.962 observed during that time as one of the 00:29.962 --> 00:33.880 pillars of Islam . What 00:33.880 --> 00:35.730 in specific is the goal of this 00:35.730 --> 00:37.841 training that you're doing especially 00:37.841 --> 00:41.420 at this time of year ? Mm the goal is 00:41.420 --> 00:43.720 to help them realize that though many 00:43.720 --> 00:45.887 of us come from a christian background 00:45.887 --> 00:48.640 in the states , we see easter and and 00:48.640 --> 00:50.930 christmas is very significant holidays . 00:50.940 --> 00:53.350 Uh , just as important as we think that 00:53.350 --> 00:56.770 is , is how Muslims view the month of 00:56.770 --> 00:58.937 Ramadan is a very significant time for 00:58.937 --> 01:01.320 the great importance of helping service 01:01.320 --> 01:03.487 members understand this is a huge part 01:03.487 --> 01:05.542 of our effort . The other part is to 01:05.542 --> 01:07.542 recognize that the biggest practice 01:07.542 --> 01:09.376 during this time is fasting from 01:09.376 --> 01:11.990 sunrise to sunset and then for us to be 01:11.990 --> 01:13.990 courteous by not eating in front of 01:13.990 --> 01:16.046 them or or drinking in front of them 01:16.046 --> 01:17.990 are smoking in front them or using 01:17.990 --> 01:19.879 profanity and just kind of take a 01:19.879 --> 01:22.120 little a little more careful uh , 01:22.130 --> 01:24.320 presence so that we respect the 01:24.330 --> 01:26.441 significance of these days for them . 01:27.340 --> 01:29.396 And what kind of response do you get 01:29.396 --> 01:31.451 from the marines , who you give this 01:31.451 --> 01:33.284 training to ? And do you get any 01:33.284 --> 01:35.173 feedback from them as to how this 01:35.173 --> 01:37.340 affects their operations or whether it 01:37.340 --> 01:39.507 whether it fits in with their security 01:39.507 --> 01:41.940 operations at all ? Yeah . Uh yeah , we 01:41.940 --> 01:43.996 certainly do get feedback . A lot of 01:43.996 --> 01:46.051 them very interested because they're 01:46.051 --> 01:48.107 looking for ways to connect with the 01:48.107 --> 01:50.329 people that they see each day and so so 01:50.329 --> 01:52.990 they really appreciate it . The one of 01:52.990 --> 01:54.990 the other things that occurs is and 01:54.990 --> 01:57.046 this is something we warn them about 01:57.046 --> 01:59.268 because just as in Christianity we have 01:59.268 --> 02:01.530 very high ideals but we see people who 02:01.540 --> 02:03.810 who go to church on sunday that do 02:03.810 --> 02:05.921 things that don't seem very christian 02:05.921 --> 02:07.921 and other times during the week and 02:07.921 --> 02:09.866 that helps them to understand that 02:09.866 --> 02:11.977 sometimes they observe muslim members 02:11.977 --> 02:13.921 with people , they believe the new 02:13.921 --> 02:13.270 liberal members doing things they 02:13.270 --> 02:15.437 didn't think were part of the religion 02:15.437 --> 02:17.659 and so helping to understand that we're 02:17.659 --> 02:19.770 all human and we're all attempting to 02:19.770 --> 02:21.770 practice their religion , kept them 02:21.770 --> 02:24.600 from uh disregarding their religion as 02:24.600 --> 02:26.711 a result and they recognize just like 02:26.711 --> 02:28.933 us um they're wanting to practice their 02:28.933 --> 02:31.100 religion freely and so we're trying to 02:31.100 --> 02:33.550 give them the chance to do that . Mhm . 02:34.040 --> 02:37.180 Is this uh something that's 02:37.180 --> 02:39.770 particularly difficult for the marines 02:39.770 --> 02:41.770 that you're seeing out there in the 02:41.770 --> 02:43.881 core today and just in terms of their 02:43.881 --> 02:46.110 own backgrounds , their own education 02:46.110 --> 02:48.550 levels , is it than ours and based on 02:48.550 --> 02:50.640 some very different principles and 02:50.640 --> 02:52.640 those are , those are difficult for 02:52.640 --> 02:54.362 them to sometimes understand . 02:54.362 --> 02:56.418 Additionally , the people that these 02:56.418 --> 02:58.584 soldiers and marines deal with most of 02:58.584 --> 03:00.529 the time , um are not your average 03:00.529 --> 03:03.540 Iraqi . They are people who are here to 03:03.550 --> 03:06.260 cause great violence and create terror . 03:06.260 --> 03:08.482 And those are the people they deal with 03:08.482 --> 03:10.593 most of the time . Um , in all of our 03:10.593 --> 03:12.482 planning , how to deal with those 03:12.482 --> 03:14.649 people . Uh a few times we get to deal 03:14.649 --> 03:16.649 with people who want to build a new 03:16.649 --> 03:18.816 life , become very rewarding times and 03:18.816 --> 03:20.538 as a result , so they get both 03:20.538 --> 03:22.593 experiences and that's a struggle to 03:22.593 --> 03:24.871 help them come to terms with sometimes . 03:24.871 --> 03:28.630 Uh can you just sort of 03:28.630 --> 03:32.220 outline for me , uh sort of pick off 03:32.220 --> 03:34.350 sort of some of the points in in your 03:34.360 --> 03:36.527 curriculum , so to speak , or or is it 03:36.527 --> 03:38.249 more of a sort of a counseling 03:38.249 --> 03:41.690 situation ? Uh No , it's a large group 03:41.690 --> 03:44.040 presentation , usually including some 03:44.040 --> 03:46.420 discussion , but it gives the 03:46.430 --> 03:49.370 background of Islam , who Mohammed was 03:49.380 --> 03:51.440 the significance of Ramadan as being 03:51.440 --> 03:53.384 the month of the revelation of the 03:53.384 --> 03:55.900 Koran . And so in the same way we 03:55.900 --> 03:57.850 revere our holy scriptures , this 03:57.850 --> 04:00.250 becomes the anniversary of the holy 04:00.250 --> 04:02.870 scriptures for the muslim and so um 04:02.880 --> 04:04.991 that's very significant . And then we 04:04.991 --> 04:06.880 talk about the five pillars , the 04:06.880 --> 04:09.047 different things that are important in 04:09.047 --> 04:11.269 Islam , the fasting , the prayers , the 04:11.269 --> 04:13.380 statement of faith , the shadow to um 04:13.380 --> 04:15.520 and and the hajj and that this is one 04:15.520 --> 04:17.576 of the most important things they do 04:17.576 --> 04:19.520 when they fast during the month of 04:19.520 --> 04:21.576 Ramadan , and we talk about how they 04:21.576 --> 04:23.687 determine when the holiday begins and 04:23.687 --> 04:25.464 when it ends and how it will be 04:25.464 --> 04:27.576 different possibly for Sunni and Shia 04:27.576 --> 04:29.687 and how different ones will celebrate 04:29.687 --> 04:31.687 differently . And the importance of 04:31.687 --> 04:33.909 special nice like the nice of glory and 04:33.909 --> 04:36.076 the night of power and how those might 04:36.076 --> 04:38.420 impact both operations and training , 04:38.430 --> 04:42.030 uh , as an impact on the attitudes 04:42.040 --> 04:44.720 or the way the marines operate out in 04:44.720 --> 04:47.260 the field , especially during Ramadan . 04:48.140 --> 04:50.251 Yeah , I think giving it a humanizing 04:50.251 --> 04:52.830 face , recognizing that uh , that they 04:52.830 --> 04:54.997 are not any more perfect than we are , 04:54.997 --> 04:57.219 has helped them take more seriously the 04:57.219 --> 04:59.690 training and uh , from all reports , 04:59.690 --> 05:01.801 I'm not usually out in the field with 05:01.801 --> 05:03.690 them . That from all reports , it 05:03.690 --> 05:05.746 sounds like uh , they've been done a 05:05.746 --> 05:07.746 great job of really respecting this 05:07.746 --> 05:09.968 religion and recognizing that's part of 05:09.968 --> 05:12.134 why we're here is given the freedom to 05:12.134 --> 05:14.830 practice their religion . Mm . And what , 05:14.840 --> 05:16.951 what is your background ? How how did 05:16.951 --> 05:20.050 you come by this uh knowledge of 05:20.060 --> 05:23.910 Islam ? Mhm . Well , I'm a 05:23.910 --> 05:26.170 Presbyterian minister and came into the 05:26.170 --> 05:28.500 chaplaincy in the Navy about 18 years 05:28.500 --> 05:31.500 ago . Um I've always had an interest in 05:31.500 --> 05:33.880 world religions but studied much more 05:33.880 --> 05:35.991 when I was preparing to teach courses 05:35.991 --> 05:38.047 at the Naval postgraduate school and 05:38.047 --> 05:39.880 Ethics after getting a degree at 05:39.880 --> 05:42.102 Princeton and Ethics . And one of those 05:42.102 --> 05:44.324 was ethics across cultures and so islam 05:44.324 --> 05:46.547 cultures we're dealing with . And so it 05:46.547 --> 05:48.602 was important to understand how they 05:48.602 --> 05:50.769 went about ethical decision making and 05:50.769 --> 05:52.824 how they're history and we needed to 05:52.824 --> 05:54.936 understand it . So that began in once 05:54.936 --> 05:56.991 again to the Middle East . Um I took 05:56.991 --> 05:59.102 the Middle East orientation course at 05:59.102 --> 06:01.660 the end . Um again spent more time 06:01.660 --> 06:03.827 studying as a result of that as well . 06:03.827 --> 06:05.604 So and then also I've done some 06:05.604 --> 06:07.716 interface with some imams back in the 06:07.716 --> 06:09.993 States to haven't had a chance to hear , 06:09.993 --> 06:11.827 I would love to , but it's not a 06:11.827 --> 06:14.580 permissive enough of environment to 06:14.580 --> 06:18.200 interact with imams . Yes . Or 06:18.200 --> 06:21.930 the religious leaders of the , of the 06:21.940 --> 06:24.107 Sunni mosques that we deal with mostly 06:24.107 --> 06:26.870 here in west to Anbar province and 06:26.870 --> 06:28.870 you're there on a tour . That's how 06:28.870 --> 06:32.540 long It's a 12 month tour . And how far 06:32.540 --> 06:35.610 along are you ? I'm coming up on nine 06:35.610 --> 06:39.100 months . And how big a part of your 06:39.100 --> 06:42.270 duties is this sort of uh , islam 06:42.270 --> 06:44.720 Familiarization and sensitization kind 06:44.720 --> 06:46.720 of training that you do . How big a 06:46.720 --> 06:48.720 part of your overall job is that as 06:48.720 --> 06:52.620 compared to your other duties ? Um , as 06:52.630 --> 06:55.910 I'm the second senior marine 06:55.910 --> 06:58.680 chaplain in theater . So developing 06:58.680 --> 07:01.080 policy and training is a big part of 07:01.080 --> 07:03.810 what I do . Um , it shows in , in 07:03.810 --> 07:06.200 things we do to give chaplains tools to 07:06.200 --> 07:08.367 be able to deal with a more permissive 07:08.367 --> 07:10.533 environment when it occurs . So , um , 07:10.533 --> 07:12.644 I spent a fair amount of time looking 07:12.644 --> 07:14.533 at policy in developing policy in 07:14.533 --> 07:16.644 developing training programs for this 07:16.644 --> 07:20.130 purpose . All right , well , again , I 07:20.130 --> 07:22.800 want to thank you for talking to me 07:22.810 --> 07:24.810 this morning or this evening , your 07:24.810 --> 07:27.580 time and , uh , glad to . Good luck . 07:27.590 --> 07:30.440 Thank you very much . Thank you . Bye 07:30.440 --> 07:32.160 bye . Like .