ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Marking a shift in their mission, the Army’s security force assistance brigades are training to operate with and advise partners and allies in large-scale combat operations.

First established in 2018, the scaled-down, specialized brigades were created to advise and assist foreign security forces while freeing up Army brigade combat teams to remain ready for and conduct combat operations.

The Army’s security force assistance brigades are helping the service extend its reach and presence around the globe, particularly in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

The Army has resumed brigade-level collective training following a three-month pause to emplace safety measures aimed at preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus among soldiers, observer-controllers and civilian role players.

All major training was halted in mid-March after DoD issued orders restricting travel for troops, employees and family members. The Army began putting measures in place so that units could resume home station training safely in smaller numbers, but major training exercises hadn’t resumed until now.

The Army announced plans for stationing the last three of its five planned Regular Army security force assistance brigades, specialized units designed for advise-and-assist missions with U.S. allies and partner nations.

The Army this week announced deployments for several units this spring and summer, including the first deployment of the new 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade.

Soldiers with the 1st SFAB out of Fort Benning, Ga., will deploy this spring to provide training and advising assistance to Afghan National Security Forces. The specialized unit is the first of its kind in the Army and the spring deployment will be its first. The second SFAB unit is being created at Fort Bragg, N.C., but has not received deployment orders.