This episode of the Modern War Institute Podcast features a conversation with Col. Curt Taylor, commander of the 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade. The unit was formally activated in May, and he shares his perspective on everything that goes into creating such a unique organization. He also describes how SFABs recruit and select officers and noncommissioned officers for the advising mission, and what role advising has in an era of great-power competition.
After twenty years of America’s post-9/11 wars and the US military’s struggle to build capable and effective security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, there...
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, one of its first targets was the city of Mariupol. Despite being outnumbered by—and less well equipped...
The recent death of Ayman al-Zawahiri marks a rare inflection point for a terrorist organization that has had just two leaders in the more...