Maybe in some cases you don't really need to train an army because a militia is all that you need?

The Afghan government can be considered as one of several powers/civil war parties in the country. Why does it need a real army if terrain has been controlled effectively by more militia-like forces in AFG in the past?

Why does nation-building need to build a Western-like nation, why not just build a region-typical nation that works?

A perfect solution can prevent a timely good solution sometimes.


I'm actually surprised that you think that a military culture can be changed in 15 years. At least in the case of present old officer/NCO corps I'd expect a generation (30 years).
But breaking old patterns and re-building to a new products isn't necessarily what I understand as advisable form of army buildup in times of war. There's probably no time for that, as the war might be lost before the training is done.
Who cares whether a unit discusses something irrelevant for three hours if its opponents aren't better?