The Army has formally inactivated the Security Force Assistance Command based in North Carolina, eliminating the headquarters that for years oversaw brigades tasked with advising foreign militaries.
The one-star command, located at Fort Bragg, was created in 2018 to help sustain the Army’s Security Force Assistance Brigades, specialized units built to assist partner forces worldwide. The unit’s closure comes amid a broader service-wide restructuring effort intended to prioritize combat capabilities.
The unit’s commander, Col. Mathew Bunch, praised its legacy during the inactivation ceremony Thursday.
“Through planning, coordination, and an unwavering commitment to readiness, this headquarters empowered our brigades to operate in every geographic combatant command, advancing the Army’s mission in places where trust, cooperation, and shared understanding mattered most,” he said, according to the release, adding, “the impact of SFAC’s work will continue to be felt long after these colors are cased.”
Six brigades, or SFABs, were established between August 2017 and May 2020.
The units were originally conceived as a way to prevent conventional brigade combat teams from being pulled into advise-and-assist missions overseas, said Lt. Col Jonathan Thomas, who worked in the Pentagon’s force management directorate, in a 2017 release about the establishment of SFABs.
The 2nd SFAB, most recently regionally aligned with U.S. Africa Command, was formally shuttered in November 2025, according to an Army release.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
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