Afghan training goes back to basics as Trump faces US troop decision

An Afghan soldier fires a 122mm howitzer during a live-fire exercise with NATO military advisers outside Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, February 15, 2017. Picture taken February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Josh Smith

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At a recent, at times chaotic live-fire exercise near NATO's military base in Kandahar, Romanian army Master Sergeant Liviv Sandulache's advice to the assembled Afghan officers was simple: "I don't want anybody to do any job without your command."

He and a growing number of NATO military advisers have begun spending more time in the field, hoping that grass-roots training will help Afghanistan's armed forces more effectively combat a Taliban insurgency that has gained in strength.