No More Train and Pray: The Consequences of Cutting the Army’s Security Force Assistance Capability

Payne Institute Fellow Jahara Matisek, Anthony Messenger and Curt Belohlavek write about how in May 2025, the Pentagon announced plans to shutter two of the Army’s six security force assistance brigades (SFABs) and to downsize Security Force Assistance Command into a small shop of about three dozen personnel within US Army Forces Command. This decision ignores clear doctrinal and operational evidence demonstrating SFABs’ strategic value.  July 22, 2025.