The command sergeant major for the 57th Field Artillery Brigade, Wisconsin National Guard, when the state received a requirement to put together an embedded training team (ETT) for duty in Afghanistan, Command Sergeant Major Jeff Janke volunteered, was mobilized, went through predeployment training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi - of which he discusses both the good points and the bad in great detail - and finally arrived in country in February 2006, taking up his duties in Gardez as the mentor for the Afghan 203rd Corps sergeant major. Janke begins by discussing the overall role of NCOs in the Afghan National Army (ANA) and then, more specifically, how his comparatively young (28-year-old) Afghan corps sergeant major handled the myriad challenges that arose from his position, challenges that were compounded by his relative inexperience but also mitigated by his many positive traits as well. Indeed, said Janke, this was hardly uncommon in the ANA. "That was one of the drawbacks for the NCOs in the senior grades: they're not senior in time." In addition, Janke discusses the ANA's need for institutional accountability and a logistics system that will adequately serve their needs. As he noted, "It's the logistics, the judicial and the soldier-caring things that will keep that institution there. They need to reduce the number of AWOLs and attritions," he added. What's more, he talks about a wide variety of ETT-related support issues, his work with interpreters, a number of cultural relations challenges - one of which that he pointed to as particularly significant. As Janke explained, "The cultural barrier is evident when you have a tribal-type society. How does a person have power?" he asked. "Part of it is age and part of it is also the awarding or withholding of favors. You see them trying to use that system as well. Authority in their military didn't necessarily come from your rank but from your ability to award and withhold favors. We had to break that down and get them into an institution where rank means something." Janke also talks about how the Afghans viewed him and his fellow Americans; the phenomenon of being able to "buy an Afghan but not ever own one"; his work with personnel from other US military services as well as contractors and the media; his efforts to help raise the status of Afghan NCOs; his recommendations for how this advisory effort can be made more effective and efficient, including the practice of having select Afghan officers and NCOs visit the US; his thoughts and experiences vis-à-vis National Guard and Reserve soldiers being on advisory teams as opposed to members of the Regular Army; and the advice he'd have for other reservists or guardsmen facing such a mission.

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