Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) John Davis served as the senior advisor and mentor to the Afghan first deputy minister of defense, Dr. Nuristani, in Kabul, Afghanistan, from January 2007 through January 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In this interview, he discusses the true value of military donations to the Afghan military, the differences in religious cultures between the Judeo-Christian world and the Muslim world, the problems of the awards system in the joint environment, and the disparities between officers and enlisted with regard to awards. He also talks about the difficulties of turning a soldier into a peacekeeper, the respect Afghans have for American troops because they do not act like the Russians did, and how the situation in Afghanistan will require different remedies than those used in Iraq. He closes the interview by stating that Afghanistan can make national progress if its infrastructure is improved enough to overcome its geographical constraints.

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