The Marines from Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, attended a week of classes covering simple phrases, greetings, numbers and colors.

"This will definitely help us out on patrols when we see signs so we can recognize some of the writing and numbers," said Lance Cpl. Andrew Jerabek, generator mechanic, CAB. "We will also be able to greet the local people when we pass by instead of being silent or rude because we don't understand."

The class also included a section about the customs and courtesies of the Afghan culture.

"These Marines are learning the language and the culture so they can interact with the local people when they deploy," said Nabi Misdaq, Pashto and Dari language expert, Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning, Training and Education Command, Headquarters Marine Corps. "The classes included culture, history of the country, society, religion, authority and communication."

One Marine stated he believes this training will allow the deploying units to perform their mission more smoothly.

"If Marines can understand the tribal laws and how the Afghan culture functions then they will see it's a strong culture and not every person bearing arms is a threat," said Sgt. Joseph Fincher, training chief, operations, Headquarters Company, CAB. "A lot of times a unit's translator is from a different region so it will also help them function better as a Marine if they understand their environment."

Having a better sense of situational awareness in real-world environments can help keep Marines calm during stressful situations.  According to Fincher, these classes will help Marines understand what is going on around them. 

"When an improvised explosive devise goes off in Afghanistan, a lot of times the local people will come around to investigate what just happened in their neighborhood," Fincher explained. "A Marine who doesn't understand the strength of the culture will be stressed when he sees the curiosity right after a blast."

One student, who has never deployed to Afghanistan, saw the value in understanding the local culture before deploying.

"It's been very informative," Jerabek said. "I went from not knowing anything to having a basic grasp, and I think it will really help us on this deployment."

The language and culture classes were added into the CAB pre-deployment training program to help their Marines stay in line with the mission to win hearts and minds, Fincher commented.

"The Marine concept here is warrior, ambassador and worker in his job field," said Sgt. Adam Higareda, one of the students. "These classes will help our Marines pull all of those together so they can transition from one role to another and realize we are there to be ambassadors of America."