When serving as military officers all over the world, West Point graduates are going to be exposed to different cultures. So where do they come to soak up some diversity? Jersey City.
Fourteen cadets visited from April 15-17, supervised by Maj. Angelica Martinez and Lt. Tanya Chacho. They came as part of the “Winning the Peace Program,” a West Point course for international studies students, which gives them exposure to diverse cultures and religious customs. It will inform them when their service takes them abroad, especially to the Middle East, where the U.S. is currently engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The cadets engaged in a variety of activities including spending two nights at an Islamic center. They also met with members of the Coptic Christian, Jewish, and Hindu communities. Other stops included City Hall on Grove Street, the Jehovah’s Witness Temple on Journal Square, and Ellis Island.
“I think that really that opened their eyes.” – Major Angelica Martinez
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“Our goal was to interact with different cultures and we had a chance to do so, meeting with Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims,” said Smith, who plans on a career as a pilot.
“We have to do an analysis paper on what we saw and how it will impact us in, say, Afghanistan,” Smith added. “There are some of the same fundamental problems. Where in Afghanistan there’s the opium trade, in Jersey City, there’s drug dealing.”
More than just a tour
The cadets enjoyed a meal of traditional Indian and Arabic foods, such as chicken kebab and lentil soup, under a tent in a parking lot on Newark Avenue (known as Indian Square).
Sam McKiernan, another “firstie” and the only female who came on the tour, enjoyed her first time in New Jersey’s second largest city. The self-described “Army brat,” said the trip was “interesting” and not a “culture shock.”
“You don’t necessarily see communities living as close as this, and I thought that was interesting.” McKiernan said. “You see different ethnic groups integrate themselves into the city, whereas in Egypt, where I have visited, you go to the Coptic Church and it is cut off from the rest of the world.”
Major Martinez, a 12-year military officer, was making her third visit to Jersey City as part of the “Winning the Peace” program. Martinez said she was impressed by how the cadets’ initial assumptions of Jersey City were challenged and changed by their visit.
“I think it is great to see them actually meet and engage with the community who really embraces them as one of their own,” Martinez said. “I think that really opened their eyes.”
Cadets Jacob Haag and Kyle Staron presented their hosts with gifts from the Military Academy as tokens of appreciation for sponsoring their trip to the city. Those hosts included retired Jersey City Police Officer Rich Boggiano – the father of two West Point graduates who brought the program to Jersey City in 2005 – Indian businessman Raju Patel, and Islamic community representative Ahmed Shedeed.
Patel was impressed by the cadets and wanted their presence to have an impact on the city’s ethnic communities.
“They learn about the civilian life, and the people who live here in turn learn about them,” Patel said. “The people in the armed forces are not any different; we are all the same.”
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.