There are a lot of problems that could have been avoided in the past 20 years if everyone deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan or a similar location was forced to sit through, and pass, a one week length cultural/sociological/religious/history class.

I have found that the gaps in knowledge between your typical USAID worker in Afghanistan and some military members (even those who should know better, at E5 and E6 ranks and similar) can be quite vast.