And our system has never been especially good at basic military training (which wasn't even really formalized until the mid-1880s). It was somewhat possible to work around this when personnel rotation was minimal (read unit-based training at the company or regimental level), but once that stability was removed it brought the initial training flaws to the fore (where it was promptly ignored). We have from time to time tried to improve the system, with varying degrees of success or failure. I'd contend that the personnel system tends to act against the development of a good training system, simply because no one is in place long enough to really put weight behind the need.