Col. Mathew F. Bunch, commander of Security Force Assistance Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Darvin T. Williams case the colors during the SFAC inactivation ceremony at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Thursday. The one-star headquarters oversaw brigades of soldiers specially trained to advise foreign military forces. (Jaquari Lindsey/U.S. Army)

The Army shuttered its Security Force Assistance Command on Thursday at Fort Bragg, N.C., closing the one-star headquarters that oversaw its brigades of soldiers specially trained to advise foreign military forces.

Unit leaders cased the command’s colors for a final time Thursday, signaling the inactivation of the SFAC as part of a broader Army reorganization effort that has prioritized units that generate combat power over other capabilities. The reorganization mandated last year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will also result in the shuttering by the end of the year of four of the Army’s six Security Force Assistance Brigades, or SFABs.

Col. Matthew Bunch, who took command of the SFAC from Brig. Gen. Kevin Lambert in June, said that despite the command’s inactivation, its soldiers — known as “advisors” for their role in aiding partner armies — had proven successful in their mission to improve allied and partner military forces around the globe.

“From its inception, the Security Force Assistance Command headquarters enabled advisors to deploy with purpose, clarity, and the support necessary to build meaningful relationships with allies and partners,” Bunch said during the inactivation ceremony, according to a news release. “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. The impact of SFAC’s work will continue to be felt long after these colors are cased.”

The SFAC was established in late 2018 alongside the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade, which was also headquartered at Fort Bragg, until its inactivation in November.

The 1st SFAB stood up at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2017, as top Army officials pitched it as a smaller-than-normal brigade of volunteer soldiers who are experts in their craft and receive extra training to advise foreign armies on the trades of soldiering. Ultimately, the Army stood up six SFABs — five active-duty brigades and one National Guard unit — and the SFAC to oversee the training and manning of those units.

The SFABs were the brainchild of retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, who served as the Army chief of staff before becoming the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Milley pitched them as units purpose-built to conduct the kind of training, advising and assisting operations that brigade combat teams had been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Command Sgt. Maj. Darvin T. Williams stands before the Security Force Assistance Command colors during the command’s inactivation ceremony at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Jaquari Lindsey/U.S. Army)

Milley and other top Army officials wanted to employ SFABs to take deployment pressure off the Army’s brigade combat teams, which had for years been rotated in and out Afghanistan and Iraq to train those nations’ forces to fight the wars there. As Chinese and Russian military aggression grew during the last decade, top Army generals wanted to shift their combat brigade’s focus to preparations to fight a large-scale war against an enemy equipped with similar capabilities to the United States.

As operations wound down in Afghanistan and Iraq in recent years, the SFABs were assigned to geographic combatant commands, where they maintained near constant presence to train partner nation forces.

The service intends to leave only two SFABs beyond 2026. The 1st SFAB, which is aligned to U.S. Southern Command, will remain at Fort Benning and the 5th SFAB, which is aligned to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, will remain at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, said Maj. Ryan Miller, an SFAC spokesman.

Under the reorganization, the 1st SFAB has been assigned to the Army’s new U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command, Miller said. The 5th SFAB has been placed under U.S. Army Pacific’s command.

The 4th SFAB will hold its inactivation ceremony later this month at Fort Carson, Colo., Miller said. It had been focused on operations in Europe.

The 3rd SFAB at Fort Hood, Texas, will inactivate in late 2026, Miller said. It had previously been aligned with U.S. Central Command but will serve under U.S. Army Pacific until its inactivation, he said.

Bunch, an infantry officer who had previously served as the SFAC’s second in command, said that the work of the SFAC and its SFABs would continue to have meaning for the Army for the foreseeable future.

“The headquarters played a pivotal role in shaping how the Army organizes, trains, and equips advisor formations, ensuring that our soldiers could deliver meaningful, tailored advisor support to partners worldwide,” Bunch said, according to the news release. “Whether enabling our brigades or helping allies strengthen their own security institutions, SFAC headquarters ensured advisors had the training, systems, and resources to succeed. As we inactivate this command, we recognize that its influence and the relationships it helped forge will continue to guide the Army’s approach to global engagement for years to come.”