First Troops Among New Front-line Adviser Brigade Arrive in Afghanistan
First Troops Among New Front-line Adviser Brigade Arrive in Afghanistan by Phillip Walter Wellman – Stars & Stripes
A new Army unit created specifically to advise and assist conventional foreign military forces has begun deploying to Afghanistan.
The 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade — whose members will be dispersed at outposts throughout the country and be closer to the front lines of the war than most U.S. troops have been in years — is a key component of the Trump administration’s strategy for ending a stalemate with the Taliban.
Instead of advising high-ranking Afghan commanders, as is done now, the new brigade will work with battalion-level personnel. U.S. military officials in Afghanistan have often cited this as a vital, missing component of their advising efforts.
The 1st SFAB’s leadership has arrived in Kabul, according to a post Wednesday on the unit’s Facebook page, and was welcomed by Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. More than 800 members of the brigade will arrive over the coming weeks in preparation for the spring fighting season, which generally begins in early April…
