I personally have done this multiple times. Almost every deployment that I've been part of and I've over seventy eight months deployed. This is different, this is specifically the SFAB is specifically resourced in terms of both personnel and equipment to accomplish that specific mission so it's no longer ad hoc we are trained with respect to advisory skills as well as force protection skills in order to accomplish the mission.
In the people that are doing it are the people that have volunteered to do it and want to do and believe in this mission, that's the difference. The mission statement is something I absolutely believe in and I think it's something that is needed as far as the Army having a dedicated unit to do the advise-and-assist mission and so I've volunteered for it.
So the SFAB, as a mission statement is to take our conventional forces apply them against a long-term problem of improving partner capacity and our foreign partners. In the SFAB you'll do what you've been doing as a conventional force Soldier but you'll be focusing on providing your skills to your foreign partner. It's a great opportunity, one you're going to be surrounded by other folks just like.
That want to do your job, that are masters at their profession, and focused on the task at hand with minimal distractions you're gonna be going to environments where they're gonna want to you know hear what you got. They're going to want to you know be like, you and so it's a great opportunity that can grow as a Soldier and grow as a person.
Our manner of performance, our measure performance, if you will is how well our partners do in a cap in combat or in Afghanistan. It starts with warfighting competence so every one of the folks we hire in this organization are our you know experts in their field. If you're a fire supporter, you're a good fire support already.
What we rely on is within that that person already is the ability to as you said display empathy they have some patience, to have flexibility, to be able to communicate complex ideas within a cultural environment, to make sure it resonates with our partner. Then with that technical competence and that that kernel of you know personal attributes, you then build on that with through training.
The training we have science talks about you know how to communicate, you know how did it influence how to negotiate because in a lot of ways working with your partner's day to day negotiation. The amount of realism, in a level of detail, down to the smell I mean literally there were times I thought I was actually in Afghanistan.
You know whether it be you're in a local village, you're conducting and sure with key leaders, these storylines that went behind it to include the role players. That honestly if there's one huge takeaway I'd say about the training you know resources that JRTC see it be the role players.
As far as teaching coaching and mentoring as a noncommissioned officer it's in my blood. I think as far as the tactical piece, the maneuver piece, especially as an Infantryman I'm pretty good with doing that stuff. The intellectual piece, however, that comes with advising a host nation security force or the individual that I'm advising is really the next piece.
I've been in the Army ten years and I've been on the line the entire time ,so I feel like just my experience of how I dealt with be in Afghanistan and when I would things like them possibly change when I was used to help me train. I feel like I have a bigger role here to actually effect that and see it.
I talked about the art of advising, we always talk about the science and how we use culture in our advantage by acknowledging the our differences, but also finding commonalities in ways we can move forward together. I totally trust my soldiers, we have hired the best, we've resourced them for the mission that they've been assigned, we've trained them against the hardest aspects of their mission the the time for us to ploy is now.
We're ready I've never felt more ready for this particular mission set especially. I mean it's a great opportunity to do something different, work with some great Soldiers, a challenging environment, you know you've got a you've got an outcome that matters their purpose and that's all a Soldier can ask for.
I'm ready, I'm 100% ready.
