KABUL, Afghanistan — Department of Defense personnel have been advised to move past the tensions and vitriol of the recent presidential election and move forward with advising and assisting the Afghan government in governance, elections, rule of law and stability, according to a leaked message from Central Command.

"This election has been a considerable distraction," Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, wrote in the message. "We need to stop dwelling on what's going on back home and get back to providing top notch advice and assistance to Afghanistan’s government and security forces."

Responses to the message have been mixed.

“It’s time to get to work,” said Lt. Col. James Starky, who currently serves as a rule of law advisor. “I’m just not sure we are going to be able to focus on creating fair and impartial courts in Afghanistan with so much investigating and re-investigation Hillary Clinton’s e-mails and foundation. Just last week, I had to explain to a local judge who…