A New Breed of Advisory Team

Security Force Assistance Brigades to Collaborate With Special Operations Forces In 2016, the U.S. Army assigned the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, to advise and assist the Iraqi Army in its efforts to retake Mosul. The U.S. soldiers did not take the lead-they trained, advised and assisted the Iraqis and Kurds to plan and conduct their own counterinsurgency mission. SFABs and SOF will work with geographical combatant commands and theater special operations commands to provide a tactical perspective of the human domain, which could yield enduring strategic effects. Recent trends of China's military expansion, an increasingly unpredictable North Korea, Russia's attempt to re-emerge as a Soviet-era superpower, Iran's influence in much of the Middle East, and the role of nonstate actors limit traditional forms of deterrence due to their hybrid employment of conflict short of war. While advising indigenous forces, special operators constantly plan for contingencies, build human infrastructure, increase senior leaders' situational understanding of the environment, and remain poised to conduct a change of mission. The SOF and SFAB soldier must remain ready to conduct key leader engagements, advise partner force leaders on the second and third order effects of their decisions and operations, and assist with humanitarian efforts, all while having a plan to fight for their lives. The complexity of the world today requires soldiers with empathy, wisdom and experience who can build trust and relationships with indigenous forces who will extend the United States' operational and strategic reach. ^ Maj. Gen. James B. Linder...