POZNAN, Poland--The 4th Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) out of Fort Carson, Colorado, has been forward deployed throughout the European Theater since October 2021.
The 4th SFAB consists of specialized units with the core mission to conduct training, advising, assisting, enabling and accompanying operations with allied and partner nations.
Under the operational control of V Corps and in coordination with U.S. Army Europe & Africa (USAREUR-AF), the 4th SFAB currently has Advisors in eight European countries: Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Georgia, North Macedonia, and Albania.
“We have Advisors in Europe from the Baltics to the Black Sea integrating with our NATO Allies and Partner Nations,” said Maj. Jaymon Bell, 4th SFAB, forward support element officer in charge. “We are here to provide shared understanding and help build joint capability and capacity between the nations armed forces.”
The 4th SFAB’s joint capabilities are shown in multinational exercises such as Defender Europe, Allied Spirit, Dynamic Front, and Combined Resolve.
“The SFAB helps to maintain the U.S. Army’s direct link to our NATO Allies and Partner Nations by having boots on ground serving within their formations,” said Bell. “This helps to maintain our commitment to strengthening the alliance and builds readiness within our formation.”
Sgt. 1st. Class Martin Hill, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 4th SFAB, who works closely with 3rd Brigade of the Georgian Defense Force in Kutaisi, Georgia.
“We build relationships by living with our partners and training with them on their schedules,” said Hill. “We try to identify how we can partner better during the exercises and training events.”
The SFAB provides subject matter experts (SME) in various Military Occupational Specialties to help with training, advising and assisting.
Hill added, “we provide SMEs in different fields from communications to engineers and maneuver experts, to help build repour and proficiency and advancement in these areas for the partner unit.”
The assistance doesn’t stop with weapon systems or training exercises in the field. The 4th SFAB attended a joint public affairs workshop in March.
“We held a joint social media information session with public affairs professionals from the Polish 18th Mechanized Division in Warsaw, Poland, said Bell. “The session was focused on how the U.S. Army PAO’s create and share content on multiple Social Media platforms”
“The relationship with the Polish 18th Mechanized Division dates back to the fall of 2022,” said Bell.
Bell continued, “The relationship between the 18th Mech. Div. and the 4th SFAB continues to strengthen the Alliance and professionally develop our Advisors.”
The 4th SFAB has been training and assisting in weapons, range safety, and the development of the Georgian Defense Forces Non-Commissioned Officer ranks. For example, in 2019, Georgia received multiple weapon systems to include the M2, M249, M240 and MK 19’s, which required new equipment training from Advisors.
“An impactful mission for me was my first employment to Georgia in 2021 helping (the Georgia Defense Force) transition from soviet era weapons to the new US arsenal,” said Hill.
“Training them new techniques and operations of the equipment and seeing how much they want to learn and master the equipment; it shows the commitment and resolve they had to start a new chapter in their military's history.”
Through their continuous presence, the Advisor teams demonstrate the U.S. Army’s commitment to the collective defense of Europe and American resolve to deter continued Russian aggression against our allies and partner nations.
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