1st Security Force Assistance Brigade

Last updated
1st Security Force Assistance Brigade
US Army Security Force Assistance Brigade SSI.png
Founded2017;6 years ago (2017) [1]
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States of America
BranchFlag of the United States Army.svg  United States Army
Type Military education and training
RoleTrain and advise foreign militaries
Security force assistance
Garrison/HQ Fort Moore, Georgia, U.S.
Color of Beret  Brown
Commanders
Current
commander
Col. Brian Ducote
Command Sgt. Maj.Christopher Goodart
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia
1st Security Force Assistance Brigade DUI.png
Beret flash
1st Security Force Assistance Brigade Flash.svg

The 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (1st SFAB) is a security force assistance brigade of the United States Army. It is based at Kelley Hill in Fort Moore, Georgia and is under the command of Colonel Brian Ducote and Command Sergeant Major Christopher Goodart. On February 8, 2018, the 1st SFAB held its official activation ceremony at the National Infantry Museum at Fort Moore. [2]

Contents

Organization

SFAB’s mission is to support, assist, advise and liaise with conventional armed forces of partner nations. Operationally, an 800-Soldier SFAB would free up a 4500-Soldier brigade combat team from a train, advise, assist mission.

On 23 June 2016, General Mark A. Milley revealed plans for train/advise/assist brigades, consisting of seasoned Commissioned Officers, Warrant Officers and Non-commissioned Officers with a full chain of command, but no junior soldiers. [3] The SFABs were to consist of 800 senior officers and NCOs, as a cadre to reform a full brigade combat team in a matter of months. [4] In May 2017, initial SFAB staffing was underway. The volunteer Officers, Warrant Officers and non-commissioned officers have previous experience in the same positions. [5] :21:20 Commanders and leaders have previously led at the same echelon. [6] The remaining personnel, all NCOs, are being recruited from across the Army. [7] [8] [9] Promotable E-4s (Specialists and Corporals) who volunteer for the SFAB are automatically promoted to Sergeant upon completion of the Combat Advisor Training Course at the Military Advisor Training Academy on Kelley Hill. [10] In the event of a national emergency, SFABs could be augmented with new Soldiers from basic training and advanced individual training to form a full brigade combat team. [5]

On 16 October 2017, BG Brian Mennes of Force Management in the Army's G3/5/7 announced accelerated deployment of the first two SFABs. [11] This was approved in early July 2017, by the Secretary of Defense and the Chief of Staff of the Army. These two SFABs would be trained in languages, how to work with interpreters, and equipped with the latest equipment including secure, but unclassified, communications and weapons to support coalition partners, [12] [13] [11] as well as unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). [14] An SFAB could provide up to 61 teams (possibly with additional soldiers for force protection). [11]

A team of twelve advisors includes combat arms experts, a medic, and personnel specializing in military intelligence, logistics, maintenance, communications, and air support. [15]

History

1st SFAB activation ceremony US Army 1st SFAB activation ceremony.jpg
1st SFAB activation ceremony

By October 2017, the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade was established at Fort Moore. [16] [17] [5] :minute 50:00

On January 11, 2018, it was announced that the 1st SFAB would deploy to Afghanistan in Spring 2018. [18]

On 8 February 2018, 1st SFAB held an activation ceremony at Fort Moore, revealing its colors and heraldry for the first time, and then cased its colors for the deployment to Afghanistan. [19] It is made up of the first graduates of the Military Advisor Training Academy (MATA), also located at Fort Moore.

1st SFAB deployed to Afghanistan in February 2018 and returned to Fort Moore in November of the same year. [20]

On 7 July 2018, Corporal Joseph Maciel, Task Force 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, attached to 2nd Battalion 1st SFAB, was killed in an apparent insider attack in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. [21] On 3 September 2018, 3rd Squadron, 1st SFAB Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Bolyard was killed in an apparent insider attack while visiting the Afghan army's 4th Brigade, 203rd Corps. [22] [23]

The 1st SFAB conducted hundreds of persistent advising missions, and facilitated operations with thirty plus Afghan National Army Kandaks (Afghan battalions), 15+ Brigades, Regional Training Centers, and Afghan divisional and corps headquarters.

Six engineering advisor teams from the brigade provided hands-on experience and testing of secure communications between NATO allies and partners during Exercise "Allied Spirit X", led by the German 1st Panzer Division, in April 2019. [24] [25] [26]

In Summer 2019 Combat Advisor Teams 1221 and 1222 became the first SFAB elements to participate in the United States Military Academy's Cadet Field Training, a four-week-long program which includes a six day field training exercise. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">III Armored Corps</span> Major formation of the United States Army Forces Command

III Corps is a corps of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Cavazos, Texas. It is a major formation of the United States Army Forces Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Special Operations Command</span> Military unit

The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( YOO-sə-sok)) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, it is the largest component of the United States Special Operations Command. It is an Army Service Component Command. Its mission is to organize, train, educate, man, equip, fund, administer, mobilize, deploy and sustain Army special operations forces to successfully conduct worldwide special operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">506th Infantry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II, is an airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, the regiment has two active battalions: the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military advisor</span> Soldier sent to a foreign nation to aid that nation in various military tasks

Military advisors or combat advisors are military personnel deployed to advise on military matters. The term is often used for soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries' militaries with their military education and training, organization, and other various military tasks. The foreign powers or organizations may send such soldiers to support countries or insurgencies while minimizing the risks of potential casualties and avoiding the political ramifications of overtly mobilizing military forces to aid an ally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Forces Command</span> United States Army command

United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard soldiers. FORSCOM was created on 1 July 1973 from the former Continental Army Command (CONARC), who in turn supplanted Army Field Forces and Army Ground Forces.

A Military Transition Team or Transition Team, commonly abbreviated as MiTT, in the context of the United States Military, is a 10 – 15 soldier team that trains foreign national and local security forces. The term has been used in the "War on Terror" to designate groups training the Iraqi Security Forces in particular. By comparison, Afghan Army and other Afghan security forces are mentored and trained by US Embedded Training Teams (ETTs) and the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) of other nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reorganization plan of United States Army</span> Current United States Army modernization and reorganization plan

The reorganization plan of the United States Army is a modernization (2015–2028) and reorganization (2006–2016) plan of the United States Army implemented (2006–2016) under the direction of Brigade Modernization Command. This effort formally began in 2006 when General Peter Schoomaker was given the support to move the Army from its Cold War divisional orientation to a full-spectrum capability with fully manned, equipped and trained brigades; this effort was completed by the end of 2016. It has been the most comprehensive reorganization since World War II and included modular combat brigades, support brigades, and command headquarters, as well as rebalancing the active and reserve components. The plan was first proposed by the Army's 34th Chief of Staff, Eric Shinseki, in 1999, but was bitterly opposed internally by the Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embedded Training Teams</span>

Embedded Training Teams or ETT is the term used by the US military since 2003 to describe conventional forces used to train and mentor Afghan forces. They were formed in 2003 under Task Force Phoenix. Although ETT refers to the Embedded Training "Team", members of the team itself commonly refer to themselves as "ETTs"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division (United States)</span> Military unit

The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division "Highlanders", is an armored brigade combat team (ABCT) of the 1st Armored Division, United States Army. The brigade is mechanized and its major combat equipment include the M1A2SEP Abrams tank, M2A3 & M3A3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, M109A6 Paladin howitzer, M1151 HMMWV and MRAP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division</span> Active US Army formation

The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (BCT) of the United States Army. The unit is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska and is the only airborne brigade combat team in the Pacific Theater. It is also the newest airborne Infantry BCT and one of only five in the United States Army; the others are the three Infantry BCTs of the 82nd Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">162nd Infantry Brigade (United States)</span> American military unit

The 162nd Infantry Brigade was an active duty Infantry training brigade of the United States Army based at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The brigade was responsible for training the Security Forces Assistance – Security Cooperation teams, also known as Military Transition Teams, prior to their deployment to Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn from 2010 until its inactivation in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Milley</span> U.S. Army general (born 1958)

Mark Alexander Milley is a United States Army general who has been serving as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since October 1, 2019. He previously served as the 39th chief of staff of the Army from August 14, 2015, to August 9, 2019, and held multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and special forces throughout his military career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security Force Assistance Brigade</span> Specialized type of United States Army unit

A Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) (pronounced ESS-fab) is a specialized United States Army unit formed to conduct security force assistance (SFA) missions: to train, advise, assist, enable and accompany operations with allied and partner nations. SFABs are intended to reduce the burden of such operations on conventionally-organized Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), allowing BCTs to focus on fighting near-peer threats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Security Force Assistance Brigade</span> Military unit

The 3rd Security Force Assistance Brigade is a Security force assistance brigade of the United States Army. It is based in Fort Cavazos, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade</span> Brigade in the US Army (e. 2018)

The 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade is a security force assistance formation - a Security Force Assistance Brigade - of the United States Army. It is based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, under the Security Force Assistance Command. Security Force Assistance Brigades are the dedicated conventional organizations for conducting security force assistance around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security Force Assistance Command</span> Military unit

The Security Force Assistance Command (SFAC) is a division-level command element for the United States Army's new security force assistance brigades (SFAB). These units' core mission is security force assistance to conduct training, advising, assisting, enabling and accompanying operations with allied and partner nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Security Force Assistance Brigade</span> Military unit

5th Security Force Assistance Brigade is a security force assistance brigade in the United States Army based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The unit stood-up on June 16, 2019, and officially activated May 28, 2020. During the activation, Gen. Michael Garrett, Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command, announced that 5th SFAB would align with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The unit completed missions to Thailand and Indonesia during the Summer of 2020, strengthening relationships between the U.S. and each respective country and setting the stage for future engagements and training. Following the completion of a Decisive Action Rotation with 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana in November 2020, the Brigade was certified for world-wide employment in 2021. On December 17, 2020, the U.S. Army announced that Advisor teams from the 5th SFAB would deploy to the Indo-Pacific region during the winter of 2020–2021 to support the United States' commitment to allies and partners in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Security Force Assistance Brigade</span> Military unit

The 4th Security Force Assistance Brigade is a Security Force Assistance Brigade of the United States Army. It is based in Fort Carson, Colorado, under the Security Force Assistance Command. 4th SFAB is aligned with EUCOM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">54th Security Force Assistance Brigade</span> Military unit

The 54th Security Force Assistance Brigade is a Security Force Assistance Brigade of the United States Army. It is an Army National Guard formation headquartered out of Indiana and falls under the Regular Army's Security Force Assistance Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security force assistance</span> U.S. military term for advisor assistance

Security Force Assistance (SFA) is an American term for United States military advisor assistance with "training, equipping and advising allied or 'partner' militaries to enable them to defend themselves without 100,000 Americans on the ground to do it for them." SFA is used when improving the security of the host country aligns with the national interests of the donor country. It may be used alongside or instead of larger commitments of the donor country's military personnel and material. This means SFA can provide an alternative to large-scale operations if a war becomes controversial or politically difficult.

References

  1. Security force assistance brigades to free brigade combat teams from advise, assist mission, army.mil, by C. Todd Lopez, dated 18 May 2017, last accessed 14 July 2018
  2. "1st SFAB hosts activation ceremony; Heraldry announced", Army.mil, dated 2018-02-08, last accessed 2018-03-02
  3. Priorities for Our Nation's Army with General Mark A. Milley (23 June 2016):Minute 18:40/1:00:45
  4. "CSA explains how skeletal advisory brigades could regenerate force" . Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Priorities for Our Nation's Army with General Mark A. Milley (23 June 2016)
  6. (16 October 2017) First security force assistance brigade training for deployment
  7. Lolita C. Baldor (4 May 2017) Associated Press Uncle Sam: We want you... to train others! $5K bonus offered Archived 5 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine accessdate=2017-05-05
  8. Security force assistance brigades to free Brigade combat teams from advise, assist mission
  9. Army Moves Closer to Establishing First Security Force Assistance Brigade
  10. 1st SFAB promotes first Soldiers to sergeant under new policy
  11. 1 2 3 AUSA (16 October 2017) AUSA Video clip, Warriors corner #9: All things Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB), part of the article, "First security force assistance brigade training for deployment"
  12. Capt. John May (November 27, 2017) Military Advisor Training Academy prepares 1st SFAB as combat advisors
  13. (December 21, 2017) Equipping SFABs: A 'Rubik's Cube' of logistics over 5,000 pieces of equipment
  14. (6 December 2017) Eyes in the Sky with 1st SFAB
  15. Jaffe and Ryan (21 January 2018), Washington Post Up to 1,000 more U.S. troops could be headed to Afghanistan this spring
  16. "1st Security Force Assistance Brigade: Who we are and why You should volunteer" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-22. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  17. "Army creates Security Force Assistance Brigade and Military Advisor Training Academy at Fort Benning". U.S. Army. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  18. "Department of the Army announces upcoming deployment of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade". U.S. Army Public Affairs. January 11, 2018.
  19. (9 February 2018) 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade holds activation ceremony
  20. "First troops among new front-line adviser brigade arrive in Afghanistan". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  21. Browne, Ryan. "Soldier killed in Afghanistan attack identified". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  22. Sean Kimmons, Army News Service (October 4, 2018) By living on Afghan base, Army advisors aim to better enable partners
  23. Sean Kimmons (September 26, 2018) After tragic loss, SFAB unit keeps sergeant major in hearts, focus of mission
  24. Capt. Jay Beeman, 5th Battalion, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (April 30, 2019) Combat advisor teams sharpen skills in multinational exercise
  25. [A RIC-U might be used by a coalition partner to encrypt their individual networks, when interoperating with a US Army voice network.]
  26. Sgt. Sean Harding (25 February 2020) 3rd SFAB and Kurdish Peshmerga work side by side to defeat threats; Peshmerga refers to the Iraqi Kurdish Army.
  27. Capt. Jannelle Allong-Diakabana (07.17.2019) CATs 1221, 1222, 1st SFAB enhance capabilities at CST