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Congressional Research Service
Inforring the legislative debate since 1914
Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs)
What Is Security Force Assistance (SFA)?
Security Force Assistance (SFA) is defined as unified
action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host nation or
regional security forces in support of a legitimate
authority. By definition security forces include not only
military forces, but also police, border forces, and other
paramilitary organizations, as well as other local and
regional forces. SFA involves organizing, training,
equipping, rebuilding, and advising foreign security forces
(FSF).
Background
The Department of Defense notes military operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and many future operations will
center on developing capability and capacity of host nation
(HN) or other FSFs. SFA activities have and are occurring
in Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America. In the past,
Special Forces units handled the majority of SFA missions,
but the growing requirement for SFA over time has resulted
in conventional forces assuming a more active role in
conducting these missions. Conventional forces SFA
missions were normally assigned to a Brigade Combat
Team (BCT), the Army's principal warfighting
organization. Because of the nature of SFA missions, BCT
leadership-officers and senior and mid-grade non-
commissioned officers (NCOs)-were typically deployed
to conduct SFA missions, with most junior NCOs and
soldiers remaining at their home station. This situation,
while practical from a resource perspective, created a
number of readiness concerns for the BCT soldiers
remaining at home station. One such concern is with
leadership stripped out of the BCTs for the SFAB mission,
the remaining soldiers were limited to training at individual
and squad level only, resulting in a low level of unit
readiness.
The Army's Plan to Establish SFABs
SFABs are to be capable of conducting SFA at the tactical
(brigade and below) level. In May 2018, the Army
announced it would establish six SFABs-five in the
Active Component and one in the Army National Guard
(ARNG). SFABs were originally planned to consist of
about 500 soldiers (BCTs consist of between 4,400 to 4,700
soldiers depending on type: Armored BCT [ ABCT],
Infantry BCT [IBCT], or Stryker BCT [SBCT]), primarily in
senior grades and encompassing a range of Military
Operational Specialties (MOSs). The Army also planned to
establish a Military Advisor Training Academy at Ft.
Benning, GA, to conduct a six-week course on relevant
topics and skills.
The Army also plans for SFABs to be expanded, if the need
arises, into fully operational BCTs capable of conducting
major combat operations. In this case, SFAB personnel
would serve as cadres who would accept the expansion of
Updated May 15, 2020
personnel and equipment required to transform the SFAB
into either a BCT. These newly manned and equipped
BCTs would then be trained up to conduct their respective
combat missions.
SFAB Force Structure
The Army's Ft. Benning, GA-based 1St SFAB was deployed
to Afghanistan in March 2018. The Ft. Bragg, NC-based 2
SFAB replaced the 1st SFAB in Afghanistan in the spring of
2019. The 3rd SFAB is based at Ft. Hood, TX. The 4th
SFAB was activated April 28, 2020, and stationed at Ft.
Carson, CO. The 5th SFAB, which is planned for activation
in late summer 2020, will be at Joint Base Lewis-McChord,
WA. Activated in March 2020, the Army National Guard's
54th SFAB plans to recruit qualified Army National Guard
soldiers to create subordinate units in Indiana, Georgia,
Florida, Texas, Ohio, and Illinois.
The Army has also established a command element-the
Security Force Assistance Command (SFAC)-within U.S.
Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) at Fort Bragg, NC, to
conduct training and readiness oversight of the SFABs.
SFAB Organization
According to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction:
SFABs consist of about 800 personnel organized in
36 multifunctional advisor teams each composed of
12 advisors and eight security personnel assigned to
support the development of a partner nation's
military According to the U.S. Army, each advisor
team would be staffed with a commander, NCO in
charge, two maneuver advisors, a medic, a joint
force operator, a communications officer, a
mechanic, an intelligence analyst, and specialists in
logistics, operations, and explosives-all tasked
with advising their Afghan counterparts while also
providing sustainment for the SFAB. An SFAB can
also employ 18 functional advising teams
specializing in logistics, engineering, or field
artillery. Each SFAB is led by a one-star general
responsible for coordinating all SFAB operations in
a partner nation.
Recent and Current SFAB Activities
The Army notes that since 2018, SFABs have deployed to
assist foreign partners in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa. In
February 2020, elements of the 1V SFAB were designated
for deployment to Africa. In June 2020, the 4th SFAB is
slated to conduct a training rotation at the Joint Readiness
Training Center (JRTC) in Ft. Polk, LA. The 4th SFAB is
then scheduled to replace the 3rd SFAB in Afghanistan in
late summer 2020.
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