Page 68 - The Cormorant Issue 14

An International Perspective of ACSC 14
By Lt Cdr Sharad Sinsunwal (Indian Navy)
My first reaction on being informed of my selection to attend the staff course at Shrivenham was one of unrestrained jubilation. In India, this course is widely regarded as the epitome of mid- level military education: an ideal mix of jointness, academia and international flavour. I was also excited by the prospect of living in the UK for a year. I felt confident that as the Indian system had evolved from the British one, I would be able to hit the ground run- ning. I guessed that the English language and driving on the left side – the usual stumbling blocks for foreigners in UK – would be comfortably tackled. So it was Wimbledon-inspired landscapes of rolling green meadows filled with happy horses and ruminating cows that dominated my thoughts. This pleasant vista was, of course, marred by stereotypical apprehensions; not the least of which was the legendary British weather. Apprehensions about food – whether ingredients for an Indian meal would be available (because the prospect of having to eat fish and chips 24 x 7 x 365 was not terribly exciting), and apprehensions about interacting with the proverbial ‘stiff upper lip’, were amongst those foremost in my mind. So with mixed expectations, I steeled myself for my year-long stay at Her Majesty’s hospitality.
As with all good plans, my pre-conceptions were turned on their head at first contact. At the airport, it took me all of ten min- utes to explain the purpose of my visit to the ‘English-speaking’ Scottish immigration officer. Unimpressed by my presentation of a letter from the British High Commission in India (or per- haps because of that!), he sent me packing to what can only be described as the ‘Quarantine Zone’, from where I escaped only by using some emotional sign language (tears). The next shock was when I attempted to effortlessly blend into the traffic on the A420. Having hit speeds in excess of 40mph only on rare occa- sions on Mumbai’s chaotic streets, the choreographed discipline of UK traffic was something I was ill-prepared for. And the reti- cent yet determined honking encouraging me to ‘get on with it’ did not alleviate the situation. On the other hand, it was quite a pleasant surprise to see a profusion of Indian restaurants, even in a small village like Shrivenham. Of course, this was tempered by the fact that these eateries were serving a strange British con- coction called ‘curry’ rather than Indian ‘food’. The final straw to break the back of my preconceptions about Great Britain was when I had my first prolonged interactions with its citizens. My somewhat masochistic expectations of having to confront con- descending cynicisms and a ‘you natives’ attitude for the next year were blown back to the Raj by the genuine warmth and politeness of all I met. Far from being made to feel like a mere colonial – incapable of differentiating horse from hound – I found myself being treated on equal footing with the English sahibs.
My expectations were similarly contradicted by the realities of the staff course. I expected ACSC to be very Brit focussed; both in course content as well as in terms of attention being given to students. I thought that internationals (especially the non-‘five eyes’) were there only to provide a bit of exotic flavour; which, I must add, was fine by me because I was never one to oppose an opportunity for R&R. I was also convinced that the syllabus would be boringly military-process oriented (stand fast campaigning) with minimal room for debate and discussion. So came another pleasant if somewhat unwelcome surprise (goodbye year-long afternoon siestas) – we ‘exoticos’ would be subject to the identi- cal process and scrutiny as our British mates, and with similar expectations in terms of course outputs. More surprising was that other than one apparently unexciting Special Forces lecture, it was ‘all-eyes’ for all activities and discussions. In fact, I found the course to be refreshingly debate-oriented with the point of
view of internationals being considered a value-add. And while there was no avoiding DP and SP and the six-step estimate, in my opinion, the course deliberated more than adequately on wider aspects of international security in an uncharacteristically (for military courses) mature manner. In summation – it was a year sans R&R, but one that was very professionally enriching.
But in retrospect, the part of this last year spent in GB I will miss most is not the excellent education or the western infrastruc- ture, but the quality and diversity of people my family and I have been privileged to interact with. This has been made possible by the uniquely international environment not only at the college but also on the ‘patch’. For instance, for the past year it has been normal for my two-year old son to interact with five or six nation- alities over the course of a day. Similarly, being invited to dinner on the patch is not just a social activity but a cultural experience akin to visiting another country. Also, the ease with which lasting friendships have been forged irrespective of nationality or politics has been most endearing. So it is with a heavy heart that I shall say adieu to a year well spent; making friends and learning con- stantly, not just on the campus but also off it.
The Canadian View
By Lt Cdr Andrew Hingston (Canadian Navy)
The Canadian navy usually sends a more senior officer than me to attend the Advanced Command and Staff College in the United Kingdom, but having been informed by my career man- ager that the deserving candidates were unavailable and that I was at the top of the undeserving list, I was thrilled at the hoped for, but unexpected opportunity, for my family and I to spend a year in the UK. The course is highly regarded in Canada and the professional opportunity coupled with the opportunity to live abroad for a year was something we couldn’t pass up. We felt that the transition to life in the UK would be simple, we speak the same language, have the same heritage and even share a head of state, there would be no culture shock for us Canadians like there might be for those coming from other nations. We thought that the UK was going to be a lot like Canada where the biggest difference would be changing Canada’s rugged vistas for Eng- land’s picturesque ‘James Herriot’ countryside.
Our pre-conceptions, of course, did not stand up to the reali- ties of Canadians living in England. Despite our shared heritage and head of state, Canada and the UK are two entirely different places. I found that even though we shared a similar language the vast array of accents (to which I added a maritime Canadian) and different usage of words made communicating challenging. I still blush when I see the girl who takes the dry cleaning at the college shop, where on my first visit I asked if she would dry clean three pairs of my pants! Although soccer has taken off in Canada in recent years I was not prepared for the fanaticism with which football is regarded here. And of course there are sports entirely alien to me such as cricket and this form of hockey played on grass instead of ice. Even the food was more different than we had expected. The peas were mashed, the pies had meat and not fruit, finding peanut butter was a challenge, and even bacon was not the same as to what we were accustomed. I did notice, however, that my colleagues from India would have no problem finding Indian ‘food’ what with all of the ‘curry’ restau- rants about. Despite all of these challenges my family and were
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