Cultural Guide SMARTbook 1: Afghanistan

At the end of March 2015, President Obama announced to slow the pace of the U.S. troop withdrawal by maintaining the current force levels of 9,800 troops through at least the end of 2015. This announcement came after a request by the Afghan government under its new president Ashraf Ghani. Obama and Ghani stated the troops were needed to train and advise Afghan forces.

Cultural awareness has become an increasingly important competency for leaders at all levels. Perceptive leaders learn how cultures affect operations. Effective leaders adapt to new situations, realizing their words and actions may be interpreted differently in different cultures. 

Afghan values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, and norms have been shaped by Afghanistan's rugged environment and geography; history of conflict; non-standard Islamic beliefs; tribal ethnicity; external and internal politics; and education. 

The SMARTbook contains information designed to enhance knowledge of Afghanistan, including history, politics, country data and statistics, and the military operational environment. Topics include Afghan cultural influences: ethnicity, economics, government, and the Taliban; Train, Advise and Assist topics: working with host-nation forces, developing host-nation security forces, working effectively with foreign security forces, conflict resolution and meetings, linguist support and interpreters; a chapter on life in Afghanistan (a practical view); and Afghanistan national and provincial data.

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