Eastern Iowan among cadets getting close-up diversity lesson

JERSEY CITY - The men and women in crisp U.S. military uniforms - including a Center Point-Urbana graduate - walked in close formation through the bustling, traffic-choked streets, passing women in full Muslim hijab, sari-clad Indian mothers pushing strollers, worshippers heading to an Egyptian Coptic church, and small shops with signs in Arabic, Hindi, Korean and a dozen other languages.

It wasn't a tour of duty overseas, but a field trip to Jersey City, just 60 miles down the Hudson River from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

The city of 250,000 is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse places in America, and the West Point cadets are visiting as part of a class at the academy on peacekeeping and reconstruction called “Winning the Peace.” The class ends in a three-day crash course designed to make the future officers - and, ultimately, the soldiers under their command - more sensitive to cultural differences.

The program is in its eighth year but has taken on new urgency as the Army deals with the fallout from a string of embarrassing episodes in Afghanistan, including reports of U.S. soldiers posing with the bloody remains of suicide bombers, urinating on Afghan corpses and burning Muslim holy books.

During the visit to Jersey City, the 23 cadets in the class stay overnight at a mosque and attend Islamic prayers. They also go to an Egyptian Coptic Christian church, a synagogue and a Hindu religious service, and sample the foods of the cultures they encounter.

West Point cadets, who graduate as second lieutenants in the Army, come from every state in the nation. Some hail from small towns.

Senior Megan Kelty, 21, from Urbana, Iowa, a town of about 1,500, said she knows her upbringing didn't offer her much diversity, so she has made a special effort to learn about other cultures and religions.

“We talk a lot about how as officers we set the tone for those we'll be leading, and the way we behave is going to set the example for how everyone in the unit is behaving,” Kelty said. “So if somebody's going to get it right, it's got to be me.”

Kelty, who graduated from Center-Point Urbana in 2008, is the daughter of David and Donna Kelty of Urbana. She is “third generation Army,” said her dad, who retired from the Army in 2003 after serving for 20 years.

He said his father, Richard, was a longtime recruiter in Eastern Iowa before he retired in 1982.

At the Islamic Center of Jersey City, where the cadets stay, program organizer Ahmed Shedeed said the visit to the city is an eye-opener for some students.

“Some of these soldiers have never seen anybody different. Some have never seen a black person or eaten Chinese food, and they come to a place like Jersey City and they understand they're not the only ones in the world, that there are civilizations and cultures that came before theirs,” he said.

Emad Attaalaa of St. George's Egyptian Coptic Church, where the cadets spent an afternoon learning about the history of the church and enjoyed a Middle Eastern-style lunch, said the program has mutual benefits, getting young people from his largely Egyptian congregation interested in the military or a career in law enforcement.

“Kids in the church come and ask me after meeting the cadets, ‘What do you think about joining the Army?'” he said.