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By Scott Prater, Mountaineer staff
FORT CARSON, Colo. —Fort Carson Soldiers who hope to serve as advisers and mentors for partner-nation forces will get the chance to exhibit their talent and leadership qualities in a few weeks.
Army Security Force Assistance Command (SFAC) evaluators will arrive on post in early October, then conduct the Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) Assessment and Selection event Oct. 8-10, 2019, at various locations on post.
Fort Carson is home to the 4th Security Force Assistance Brigade (4th SFAB) and all Soldiers who are selected from the event will integrate into the brigade here.
“It just makes sense,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Sastre, SFAB assessment and selection operations and maneuver NCO. “The assessment and selection event serve as a priority fill for the 4th SFAB, so if we select from Fort Carson Soldiers, they won’t need to change stations. However, if a Soldier doesn’t want to be assigned at Fort Carson and a position is available at another duty station, (they) would have that opportunity as well.”
Created with the intention to alleviate the enduring advise-and-assist mission load on U.S. Army brigade combat teams, SFABs are relatively new formations specially trained and built to enable combatant commanders to accomplish theater-security objectives by training, advising, assisting, accompanying and enabling allied and partnered indigenous security forces. Currently, the Army holds five SFABs, based at several installations nationwide.
According to Army guidance, SFAB Soldiers are proven leaders with high promotion potential, mature self-starters who can operate independently, master tacticians who can coach, teach and mentor partnered foreign security forces, and are both ready to deploy at a moment’s notice and willing to assume increased responsibility if the Army rapidly expands.
SFAC evaluators typically hold these assessment events at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, home of the SFAC. This event marks the first assessment conducted at an SFAB’s home post.
The three-day assessment will include fitness tests, team challenges and leadership boards.
But it is far from an ordinary test.
Candidates will not only be challenged physically and mentally, they’ll be evaluated on their communication skills, ability to work well with others, resiliency, moral and ethical character, decision making, patience and attention to detail, among other qualities.
“We inform candidates at the beginning that they’ll be evaluated at every point going forward,” Sastre said. “We’re looking for experienced and qualified leaders who will represent the Army and the U.S. in a positive manner and who can communicate effectively in a variety of environments.”
While the SFAC evaluators conduct the assessment and evaluate the candidates, board members from the 4th SFAB and 5th SFAB leadership teams will select the newest 4th SFAB Soldiers based on those evaluations and the candidates’ board performance.
The 4th SFAB is looking to fill a variety of advisory and support roles and candidates are mostly NCOs or specialists who are promotable, who come from a wide range of military operational specialties, including infantry, military police, cavalry scout, intel, fire support and logistics specialists.
Limited qualified walk-ons will be allowed based on seating availability. Fort Carson Soldiers interested in participating in the assessment and selection event can contact Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Sastre, assessment and selection event coordinator atjonathan.a.sastre.mil@mail.mil.