Updated October 24, 2018
Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs)
What Is Security Force Assistance (SFA)?
conducting major combat operations. In this case, SFAB
Security Force Assistance (SFA) is defined as “unified
personnel would serve as cadres who would accept the
action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host nation or
expansion of personnel and equipment required to
regional security forces in support of a legitimate
transform the SFAB into either an ABCT or IBCT. These
authority.” By definition “security forces include not only
newly manned and equipped BCTs would then be trained
military forces, but also police, border forces, and other
up to conduct their respective combat missions.
paramilitary organizations, as well as other local and
regional forces.” SFA involves organizing, training,
Current Activities
equipping, rebuilding, and advising foreign security forces
The Army’s Ft. Benning-based 1st SFAB was deployed to
(FSF).
Afghanistan in March 2018 and is scheduled to return home
in early 2019. The Ft. Bragg, NC-based 2nd SFAB is
Background
currently in training and is scheduled to replace the 1st
The Department of Defense notes “current military
SFAB in Afghanistan in the spring of 2019. The Army
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and many future
National Guard’s 54th SFAB is beginning to recruit
operations will center on developing capability and capacity
qualified Army National Guard soldiers to create
of host nation (HN) or other FSFs.” SFA activities have and
subordinate units in Indiana, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Ohio,
are occurring in Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America.
and Illinois.
In the past, Special Forces units handled the majority of
SFA missions, but the growing requirement for SFA over
SFAB Personnel Considerations
time has resulted in conventional forces assuming a more
Initially, the Army plans to man SFABs with volunteers
active role in conducting these missions. Currently,
only, with the Army paying a $5,000 incentive for enlisted
conventional forces SFA missions are normally assigned to
SFAB volunteers. Leaders at Brigade and Battalion levels
a Brigade Combat Team (BCT), the Army’s principal
must have already successfully served in a commensurate
warfighting organization. Because of the nature of SFA
position in a BCT before being selected to serve in a SFAB.
missions, BCT leadership—officers and senior and mid-
The Army also wants officers and NCOs who have
grade non-commissioned officers (NCOs)—are typically
previously served as company commanders and first
deployed to conduct SFA missions, whereas most junior
sergeants for SFAB duty. About 70% of SFAB soldiers will
NCOs and soldiers remain at their home station. This
receive extensive training detailed in the next section and
situation, while practical from a resource perspective,
be coded as advisors. The rest of the soldiers will be
creates a number of readiness concerns for the BCT soldiers
mission command personnel to run the brigades.
remaining at home station. One such concern is with
leadership stripped out of the BCTs for the SFAB mission,
SFAB Training
remaining soldiers are limited to training to individual and
In addition to training at the Military Advisor Training
squad level only.
Academy, most SFAB members will receive language
training—as much as 16 weeks in some cases. Soldiers will
The Army’s Plan to Establish SFABs
also receive training on foreign weapons, advanced medical
SFABs are to be capable of conducting SFA at the tactical
training, driver training, and survival, evasion, resistance,
(brigade and below) level. In May 2018, the Army
and escape (SERE) training.
announced it would establish six SFABs—five in the
Active Component and one in the Army National Guard
Equipping SFABs
(ARNG)—with the first SFAB to be activated at Ft.
Soldiers in SFABs will be issued standard personal
Benning, GA, in October 2017. SFABs will consist of 529
equipment (weapons, protective masks, etc.) and a variety
soldiers (BCTs consist of between 4,400 to 4,700 soldiers
of tactical wheeled vehicles armed with crew-served
depending on type: Armored BCT [ABCT], Infantry BCT
weapons (.50 caliber and 7.62 mm machine guns) for force
[IBCT], or Stryker BCT SBCT]), primarily in senior grades
protection. Additional equipment needed to build an ABCT
and encompassing a range of Military Operational
or IBCT would be provided during the SFAB’s
Specialties (MOSs). The Army also plans to establish a
regeneration.
Military Advisor Training Academy at Ft. Benning, GA, to
conduct a six-week course on relevant topics and skills.
Potential Issues for Congress
Each SFAB is to be aligned with a Geographical Combatant
Are SFABs, with their limited presence, the right
Command, with the first SFAB established being aligned to
solution for SFA?
U.S. Central Command.
What are the equipment, vehicular, and military
The Army also plans for SFABs to be expanded, if the need
construction (MILCON) requirements associated with
arises, into fully operational ABCTs or IBCTs capable of
the SFABs?
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs)
Will SFABs be associated with Army divisions as are
In the event SFABs are to be regenerated into ABCTs or
most BCTs, or will they be separate independent
IBCTs, how long will it take to man, equip, and train
entities?
them so they are capable of performing their combat
mission?
If not associated with standing Army divisions, will a
separate division-level headquarters be established for
Andrew Feickert, Specialist in Military Ground Forces
the Army’s six SFABs?
IF10675
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs)
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10675 · VERSION 3 · UPDATED