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American advisers teaching mortar firing techniques to Afghan soldiers during the War in Afghanistan
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Security Force Assistance (SFA) a term originating in the United States Armed Forces for military adviser 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."[1] SFA is used when improving the security of the host country aligns with the national interests of the donor country.[2] It may be used alongside or instead of larger commitments of the donor country's military personnel and matériel.[1] This means SFA can provide an alternative to large-scale operations if a war becomes controversial or politically difficult.[1] Given the ending of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with US-led multinational missions to train and equip the militaries of weak states for counterinsurgency and counterterrorism purposes, the US (and many other Western militaries) have increasingly shifted towards SFA programs that make host-nation security force more capable of conducting Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO).[3]

Definitions

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Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union military advisers during the Angolan Civil War

US Army Field Manual 3-07.1 defines SFA as:

Security force assistance is the unified action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host-nation or regional security forces in support of a legitimate authority.

— Field Manual 3-07.1: Security Force Assistance, 2009[4]

Allied Joint Publication-3.16 defines SFA as:

Security force assistance (SFA) includes all NATO activities that develop and improve, or directly support, the development of local forces and their associated institutions in crisis zones. Local forces comprise indigenous, non-NATO military security forces...

— Allied Joint Doctrine for Security Force Assistance (AJP-3.16), 2016[5]

Joint Publication 3-20, Security Cooperation, defines SFA as:

Security force assistance is the set of Department of Defense security cooperation activities that contribute to unified action by the United States Government to support the development of the capacity and capabilities of foreign security forces and their supporting institutions, whether of a partner nation or an international organization (e.g., regional security organization), in support of US objectives.

— Joint Publication 3-20, Security Cooperation, 2017[6]

Theory

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SFA is linked to, though distinct from, Foreign Internal Defense (FID). It is a common misconception that the two are the same.[7] One difference between the two is that FID is chiefly smaller-scale and the domain of Special Operations Forces (SOF), and SFA is chiefly larger-scale and the domain of conventional forces, but neither exclusively so.[7] Differences may also be found in that FID is a tactical mission of irregular warfare (IW), giving focus on the local population facing internal threats, whereas SFA is an operational or strategic mission that falls under conventional warfare and focuses on state-level forces that may be both internal and external. Where FID was carried out for decades by special operations forces during the Cold War, the United States developed SFA beginning in about 2006.[7] Given the relative youth of the concept of SFA, and that the experiences of SOF with FID would inform the practice of SFA during its infancy, one can understand there would likely be difficulty in distinguishing the two until SFA has matured in and of itself.

History

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Although SFA is relatively new as a concept within western military doctrine, it has been practiced as long as states have had the technology and power to carry it out. Historical examples of SFA are the role of France in the American Revolutionary War and the Cuban intervention in Angola. The modern concept of SFA, however, is intrinsically linked to the International Security Assistance Force in the War in Afghanistan and the NATO Training Mission of the Iraq War. These conflicts gave rise to the current understanding of SFA, and the strategies employed within them also led to the need to define SFA and how to approach it within US military doctrine.

FID, which can be seen as the tactical-level equivalent to the strategic-level SFA, also has a long history. It was employed often during the Cold War by units such as United States Army Special Forces. This can be seen in Project 404 and the role of the 8th Special Forces Group in assisting Bolivia to fight the Ñancahuazú Guerrilla.[8][9] The US Army Special Forces were enlarged and directed to focus on FID by President John F. Kennedy to counter the global influence of the Soviet Union and to prevent Communist insurgencies gaining power abroad, motivated by thinking based upon domino theory.[10] In fact, FID has been a core part of the role of modern SOF units since they came into being.[11][12][13]

Following their initial invasions, both the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War developed into guerrilla wars, with the US-led allies in both conflicts primarily carrying out counterinsurgency and nation-building thereafter.[14][15][16][17] The importance of SFA in the subsequent strategy of the Western forces can be seen in the respective formation of the International Security Assistance Force and NATO Training Mission – Iraq. The key role of SFA in US strategy in the War on Terror and lack of existing SFA doctrine meant that it had to be developed; this began in approximately 2007 to 2008.[18][19][20]

The importance of SFA within NATO's approach to the War on Terror has led to NATO countries prioritizing the development of their SFA capabilities with dedicated units. For example, the United States Army began to create its Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) within Security Force Assistance Command in 2018.[21][22] Similarly, the United Kingdom established both the 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade and British Army Ranger Regiment in 2021, both of which specialize in SFA and FID.[23][24][25][26] Finally, the institutionalization of SFA can be best seen with the establishment of the NATO SFA Center of Excellence (Rome, Italy) in 2017, to collect lessons learned and advance conceptual development of SFA best practices, doctrine, education, training, etc.[27]

British and U.S. units and formations

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Below is an incomplete list of units that today specialize in SFA or FID as one part of a wider SFA strategy.

United Kingdom

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United States of America

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Activation ceremony of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Biddle, Stephen; Macdonald, Julia; Baker, Ryan (23 February 2018). "Small footprint, small payoff: The military effectiveness of security force assistance". Journal of Strategic Studies. 41 (1–2): 90. doi:10.1080/01402390.2017.1307745. ISSN 0140-2390. S2CID 157229640. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. ^ Matisek, Jahara; Reno, William (January 23, 2019). "Getting American Security Force Assistance Right: Political Context Matters". Joint Force Quarterly (92). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  3. ^ Matisek, Jahara &, Commons, Austin (March–April 2021). "Thinking outside of the Sandbox: Succeeding at Security Force Assistance beyond the Middle East". Military Review: 34–42.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Headquarters, Department of the Army (1 May 2009). "Field Manual 3-07.1: Security Force Assistance" (PDF). usacac.army.mil. Washington, DC. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  5. ^ Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (May 2016). "Allied Joint Publication (AJP)-3.16, Allied Joint Doctrine for Security Force Assistance" (PDF). gov.uk. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Joint Publication 3-20: Security Cooperation" (PDF). www.jcs.mil. 23 May 2017. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 Aug 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Matelski, Thomas R. (18 November 2008). "Developing Security Force Assistance: Lessons from Foreign Internal Defense" (PDF). pp. 3–12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 Jun 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  8. ^ Balestrieri, Steve (Oct 9, 2018). "SF Working By, With, Through Bolivian Rangers Capture Che Guevara | SOFREP SF Working By, With, Through Bolivian Rangers Capture Che Guevara". SOFREP. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  9. ^ Briscoe, Charles (2008). "Introduction: Special Forces in Bolivia". arsof-history.org. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  10. ^ Shribman, David; Times, Special To the New York (9 December 1981). "KENNEDY GAVE SPECIAL FORCES THEIR EMBLEM". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  11. ^ Jones, Tim (1 October 2001). Post-war Counterinsurgency and the SAS, 1945-1952: A Special Type of Warfare. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203045626. ISBN 9781136339240. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  12. ^ Lindsay, Franklin A. (1962). "Unconventional Warfare". Foreign Affairs. 40 (2): 274. doi:10.2307/20029552. JSTOR 20029552. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  13. ^ Leary, John D. (1995). "Searching for a Role: The Special Air Service (Sas) Regiment in the Malayan Emergency". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 73 (296): 251–269. ISSN 0037-9700. JSTOR 44230003. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  14. ^ Deflem, Mathieu; Sutphin, Suzanne (1 November 2006). "Policing Post-War Iraq: Insurgency, Civilian Police, and the Reconstruction of Society". Sociological Focus. 39 (4): 265–283. doi:10.1080/00380237.2006.10571289. ISSN 0038-0237. S2CID 153772055. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  15. ^ Johnson, Thomas H.; Mason, M. Chris (1 December 2007). "Understanding the Taliban and Insurgency in Afghanistan". Orbis. 51 (1): 71–89. doi:10.1016/j.orbis.2006.10.006. hdl:10945/30471. ISSN 0030-4387. S2CID 15432274. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  16. ^ Egnell, Robert (1 September 2010). "Winning 'Hearts and Minds'? A Critical Analysis of Counter-Insurgency Operations in Afghanistan". Civil Wars. 12 (3): 282–303. doi:10.1080/13698249.2010.509562. ISSN 1369-8249. S2CID 143827718. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  17. ^ Kelly, Terrence K. (2011). Security force assistance in Afghanistan : identifying lessons for future efforts. Santa Monica: RAND Corp. ISBN 978-0-8330-5224-7. JSTOR 10.7249/mg1066a. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  18. ^ Dempsey, Martin E. (1 May 2009). Security Force Assistance. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WASHINGTON DC. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  19. ^ Sullivan, Michael D. (11 April 2008). Security Force Assistance: Building Foreign Security Forces and Joint Doctrine for the Future of U.S. Regional Security. ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  20. ^ Escandon, Joseph E. (13 June 2008). Future of Security Force Assistance: Is the Modular Brigade Combat Team the Right Organization (Thesis). ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  21. ^ Mackenzie, James (17 August 2018). "New U.S. training unit in Afghanistan faces old problems". Reuters. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Security Force Assistance Command, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade activate at Fort Bragg". www.army.mil. December 7, 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  23. ^ BBC News (22 March 2021). "Defence review: British army to be cut to 72,500 troops by 2025". BBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  24. ^ Bunkall, Alistair. "Army to shrink to its smallest size since the 1700s while £23bn is invested in technology, under new defence plans". Sky News. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  25. ^ Sky UK Limited (20 March 2021). "New Army special operations Ranger Regiment to take on 'high threat' missions overseas after Integrated Review". Sky News. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  26. ^ Warrell, Helen (19 March 2021). "UK looks to new 'Ranger' regiment to tackle emerging conflicts". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  27. ^ "NATO SFA COE".
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