According to Culture Shock in Afghanistan, the new Afghan army is learning the western way of war:
When these young men encounter the NATO instructors there is a bit of culture shock. The uniforms, drills and need to salute officers is all pretty alien. But the combat training is the biggest shock of all. The young men have heard the stories of how the Americans fight, and are impressed. During the 1980s, the Russian soldiers often fled, or didn?t fight back when attacked. The Americans fight, and they fight to kill. Many of the Americans lionized in Afghan war stories were Special Forces or commandoes, and the Afghans respect the kind of ruthless killing machine these troops represented. But the training they receive to emulate these war stories seems endless, exhausting and repetitive. Many Afghans drop out, discouraged, exhausted or disillusioned. The American war movies so popular in Afghanistan rarely show the reality of combat training. But most of the recruits persist. After their first few combat actions, the Afghan troops get it. The drills were important, and the strange tactics work.