Security Force Assistance Brigade
The Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) are specialized, modular units of the United States Army, each consisting of approximately 500 to 800 volunteer soldiers with extensive operational experience, dedicated to conducting security force assistance (SFA) operations that include assessing, advising, training, and enabling foreign partner militaries and security forces to build sustainable capabilities aligned with U.S. strategic objectives.[1] Established between 2017 and 2019 as part of the Army's doctrinal shift toward professionalizing advisory missions—drawing from lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan where ad hoc advising strained conventional brigade combat teams (BCTs)—the SFABs operate under the Security Force Assistance Command (SFAC) and are regionally aligned to theaters such as Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, allowing conventional BCTs to focus on high-intensity combat readiness.[2][3] Distinctive features include leadership by senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) on advisor teams, the adoption of brown berets to signify their advisory expertise, and a focus on persistent engagement rather than temporary embeds, with personnel selected through rigorous assessment emphasizing cultural awareness, language skills, and tactical proficiency.[1][4] While SFABs have contributed to partner capacity-building efforts, including joint exercises and persistent advising in regions like CENTCOM and Africa, their effectiveness has been hampered by persistent recruiting and retention challenges due to the demanding nature of deployments without combat recognition, disciplinary scandals involving alcohol violations and misconduct abroad, and broader critiques of U.S. security assistance yielding mixed results in fostering self-reliant forces, as evidenced by the rapid collapse of Afghan units post-2021 despite years of advising.[5][6][7] In 2025, the Army announced plans to deactivate two SFABs and reassign personnel to conventional units amid a doctrinal pivot toward peer competition and large-scale combat operations, reflecting ongoing evaluations of their utility in an era prioritizing deterrence over assistance.[8][9]Origins and History
Establishment and Rationale
The U.S. Army announced its intent to create Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) in 2015 as part of a broader effort to institutionalize security force assistance (SFA) missions, which involve training, advising, and assisting allied and partner nations' security forces.[10] This initiative addressed longstanding challenges where conventional Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), typically comprising 4,400 to 4,700 soldiers, were routinely diverted from warfighting readiness to perform advisory roles, reducing their availability for combat deployments.[8] SFABs were designed as smaller, specialized units of approximately 500 soldiers each, optimized for SFA without the full combat capabilities of BCTs, thereby preserving larger formations for high-intensity conflict preparation.[8] In February 2017, the Army formally established the SFAB concept and the associated Military Advisor Training Academy at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), marking the shift to permanent, purpose-built advisory units capable of rapid deployment for security cooperation activities.[11] The first SFAB was provisionally activated in May 2017, with full establishment targeted for six brigades by 2024 to meet global demands for partner capacity building amid evolving threats like great power competition.[12] This structure aimed to enhance deterrence by strengthening foreign partners' abilities to maintain security independently, reducing U.S. direct involvement in protracted stability operations that had strained resources in prior conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan.[13] The rationale emphasized professionalizing SFA, which the Army had conducted ad hoc for decades but without dedicated formations, leading to inconsistent outcomes in building effective partner forces.[13] By concentrating experienced personnel in SFABs, the Army sought to improve advisory efficacy, foster interoperability with allies, and enable quicker joint force responses in crises through enhanced coordination, all while aligning with strategic priorities to counter adversaries without overcommitting conventional units.[8]Initial Activations and Expansion
The U.S. Army provisionally activated the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) in August 2017 at Fort Benning, Georgia, marking the initial implementation of dedicated units for advising and assisting partner nations' security forces. This activation followed the Army's 2017 doctrinal shift to institutionalize security force assistance as a core competency, separate from conventional brigade combat teams.[14] The unit's official activation ceremony occurred on February 8, 2018, at the National Infantry Museum, where leaders unveiled its colors, distinctive unit insignia, and shoulder sleeve insignia, comprising approximately 800 specialized advisor Soldiers.[15] [16] Building on the 1st SFAB's establishment, the Army announced plans in May 2018 to expand to six SFABs total—five in the active component, each aligned to a geographic combatant command, and one in the Army National Guard—to enhance global advisory capacity without diverting resources from combat-focused units.[17] The 2nd SFAB activated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, following its announcement on December 8, 2017, focusing on Europe and Africa.[14] Subsequent activations included the 3rd SFAB on July 16, 2019, at Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), Texas, with about 529 personnel dedicated to the Middle East and Central Command area.[18] The 4th SFAB activated in 2019 at Fort Carson, Colorado, oriented toward the Indo-Pacific, while the 5th SFAB, the final active-component unit, stood up on June 16, 2019, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, achieving full operational capability by May 2020 with over 800 advisors.[19] [20] The Army National Guard's 54th SFAB began activations with its first battalion on June 25, 2020, at Fort Benning, providing surge capacity for domestic and international assistance missions.[21] This expansion to six brigades by 2020 represented a 24% potential increase in maneuver battalion equivalents during emergencies, emphasizing scalable advisory expertise over traditional warfighting roles.[22]Mission and Doctrine
Core Advisory Functions
The core advisory functions of Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) center on providing expert guidance to foreign security forces (FSF) to build their capacity and capability without exercising command authority, as outlined in U.S. Army doctrine.[2] Advisors embedded within SFAB units deliver mentorship, subject matter expertise, and counsel to FSF leaders and staffs across tactical, operational, and strategic levels, focusing on enhancing self-sufficiency in operations, planning, and institutional development.[2] This advising occurs through dedicated teams, typically comprising twelve personnel tailored to counterpart units ranging from platoons to ministries, enabling coordinated support with joint, interagency, and multinational partners.[2] Advising encompasses four primary activities: advise, assist, enable, and accompany. In the advise role, SFAB personnel offer doctrinal insights drawn from U.S. Army experience, such as communications planning, sustainment strategies, and risk management, to inform FSF decision-making without directing actions.[2] The assist function involves temporary support in execution, including logistics coordination and maintenance oversight, until FSF achieve independence.[2] Enable efforts build long-term proficiency by facilitating access to training programs, resources, and coalition capabilities, particularly in areas like equipment standardization and institutional reforms.[2] Accompany integrates advisors alongside FSF during missions to foster trust, legitimacy, and real-time guidance, such as in medical evacuations or detention operations.[2] At the tactical level, advising targets platoon-to-battalion tasks, including individual skills, collective training, and operational fires integration.[2] Operationally, it supports company-to-brigade elements with planning, staff processes, and joint coordination for services like border patrol or army sustainment.[2] Strategically, SFABs engage ministries and national systems on procurement, intelligence, personnel accountability, and doctrinal alignment to drive systemic improvements.[2] These functions align with broader security force assistance (SFA) doctrine, emphasizing assessment of FSF needs, liaison across chains of command, and measurable progress toward partner self-defense capabilities.[1][2]Integration into Broader US Military Strategy
The Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) integrate into broader U.S. military strategy as dedicated formations for security force assistance (SFA), enabling partner nations to build capabilities that advance U.S. objectives in great power competition, as outlined in the 2022 National Defense Strategy.[23] This alignment emphasizes integrated deterrence against peer competitors like China and Russia by enhancing partner military capacity, interoperability, and local knowledge to deter aggression without sole reliance on U.S. forces.[23] SFABs conduct persistent advising, training, and enabling operations below the threshold of armed conflict, supporting theater security cooperation plans and geographic combatant command campaigns to shape security environments and consolidate gains.[2] Doctrinally, SFABs nest within unified land operations and joint security cooperation frameworks, as detailed in Army Techniques Publication 3-96.1 (published May 2, 2018), which positions SFA as a historical and ongoing Army role—from training in Bosnia to large-scale efforts in Iraq—now focused on multi-domain operations (MDO) and large-scale combat operations (LSCO).[2] Following a 2019 doctrinal shift, SFABs transitioned from counterinsurgency-centric missions to prioritizing partner force development for high-end conflict scenarios, preserving U.S. Brigade Combat Team readiness while multiplying combat power through advise, assist, support, liaise, and enable functions.[24] This evolution supports the National Military Strategy by facilitating partner legitimacy, stability tasks like civil security and resource control, and transitions to host-nation lead, measured by gains in foreign security force capability, capacity, competency, commitment, and confidence.[2][24] Operationally, SFABs enhance strategic deterrence within the Army's Regionally Aligned Forces (RAF) concept, integrating with armored or Stryker brigade rotations to offset reduced U.S. deployments—such as substituting one combined-arms battalion with an SFAB battalion task force—yielding cost savings estimated at $68 million per rotation and exponential increases in partnered combat effectiveness (3-9 times).[24] They coordinate with U.S. ambassadors, joint forces, and interagency partners under Title 10 or Title 22 authorities, advising across tactical to ministerial levels on logistics, equipping, and sustainment to enable rapid theater response and interoperability in cyber, electronic warfare, and fires domains.[2][24] In MDO contexts, SFABs leverage decentralized mission command and relief-in-place techniques to expand into provisional Brigade Combat Teams if needed, ensuring seamless support to U.S. campaigns while minimizing escalation risks through principal-agent dynamics with allies.[2]Organizational Structure
Unit Composition and Manning
The Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) is organized with a brigade headquarters and six primary subordinate battalions or squadrons tailored for advisory missions, including two maneuver battalions, one cavalry squadron, one field artillery battalion, one engineer battalion, and one brigade support battalion, supplemented by a military intelligence company and a signal company.[2] This structure draws from infantry brigade combat team models but eliminates organic combat maneuver elements beyond advising teams, emphasizing multifunctional advisory capacity over direct combat power.[13] Maneuver battalions typically include three light infantry companies each, while the cavalry squadron and other units focus on reconnaissance, fires coordination, engineering advice, and sustainment support rather than independent operations.[2] SFABs are authorized approximately 800 personnel, consisting almost exclusively of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) at staff sergeant rank and above to leverage tactical expertise and reduce vulnerability in advisory roles. Unlike conventional brigades, which incorporate junior enlisted soldiers for routine tasks, SFAB manning prioritizes combat-experienced volunteers who complete specialized advisor training, enabling teams to embed with foreign partners at multiple echelons.[13] Advising teams, numbering around 54 to 60 across the brigade, are typically 12 soldiers strong, led by a captain for standard teams or a major for company-level teams, and include specialists in maneuver, fires, logistics, intelligence, and engineering functions.[2][13]| Unit Type | Subordinate Elements | Primary Advisory Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Maneuver Battalions (x2) | Headquarters; 3 light infantry companies each | Tactical maneuver, small-unit advising |
| Cavalry Squadron (x1) | Headquarters; 3 troops | Reconnaissance, security operations |
| Field Artillery Battalion (x1) | Headquarters; 2 cannon batteries | Fires coordination, indirect fire advising |
| Engineer Battalion (x1) | Headquarters; 2 engineer companies | Mobility, countermobility, infrastructure advice |
| Brigade Support Battalion (x1) | Headquarters support company (distribution, maintenance, medical sections) | Logistics, sustainment, health system support |
| Military Intelligence Company (x1) | Human intelligence and counterintelligence sections | Intelligence collection, analysis advising |
| Signal Company (x1) | Communication support elements | Network and communications advising[2] |
Differences from Conventional Brigade Combat Teams
Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) differ fundamentally from conventional Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) in mission orientation, with SFABs dedicated to security force assistance (SFA) operations—assessing, advising, assisting, and liaising with partner nation security forces—rather than conducting direct combat or decisive action maneuvers typical of BCTs.[1][2] This specialization allows SFABs to build partner capacity without diverting BCTs from warfighting readiness, as prior SFA tasks often required attaching conventional BCT elements, straining their combat focus.[25][6] Organizationally, SFABs are smaller and more tailored, comprising approximately 800 personnel organized into a headquarters, six advisor battalions (each with company-level advisor teams of 10-12 members), a cavalry squadron for reconnaissance and security, and a brigade support battalion, lacking the maneuver battalions, field artillery battalions, and brigade support elements found in BCTs that enable sustained independent combat operations.[2][26] BCTs, by contrast, field 4,000-5,000 soldiers with integrated armored, infantry, and fires capabilities for large-scale combat, such as in infantry (IBCT), Stryker (SBCT), or armored (ABCT) variants.[2] SFABs emphasize decentralized advisor teams embedded with partners, supported by scaled-down enablers like intelligence and sustainment, but without organic heavy weapons or the ability to function as a fully independent combat formation.[2][24] Personnel composition in SFABs prioritizes experienced, volunteer advisors with higher ranks and specialized skills, featuring a rank-heavy structure where advisor teams include multiple staff sergeants, sergeants first class, warrant officers, and captains—often with prior combat deployments and language qualifications—contrasting with the junior enlisted and officer mix in BCTs geared toward tactical execution.[27][28] This manning enables SFABs to operate in advisory roles across echelons, from tactical to operational levels, but limits their scale compared to BCTs' broader force generation.[27]| Aspect | SFAB Characteristics | BCT Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ~800 soldiers | 4,000-5,000 soldiers |
| Core Units | Advisor battalions, reconnaissance squadron, support battalion | Maneuver battalions (infantry/armor), artillery, engineer battalions |
| Equipment Focus | Light vehicles, advisory tools; limited organic fires | Tanks, Bradleys, artillery; full-spectrum combat enablers |
| Deployment Role | Partner capacity building; non-combat advisory missions | Direct combat; large-scale operations |