Frank Sobchak, a retired Special Forces colonel and author of Training for Victory: Special Forces Advisory Missions from El Salvador to Afghanistan, joins podcast editor Ron Granieri to discuss the complexities of security force assistance (SFA). Their conversation delves into the challenges of measuring success in advisory missions and avoiding deeper U.S. combat commitments. Frank’s research, based on five case studies (El Salvador, the Philippines, Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan), identifies key variables influencing SFA success. He cites advisor language and cultural awareness, advisor-to-host nation ratio, consistency in advisor pairing, combat advising, and the ability to organize host nation units. He emphasized that while not all factors need to be perfectly aligned, a majority must be in place for a mission to succeed.
Ultimately, the host nation forces have to be able to fight against their enemy and win, and they have to be able to do that on their own.
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Frank Sobchak is the Chair of Irregular Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. He is a retired Special Forces Colonel and holds a PhD in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is co editor of the two-volume set, The U.S. Army in the Iraq War Volume 1 & Volume 2, and his latest book, Training for Victory: Special Forces Advisory Missions from El Salvador to Afghanistan, was selected for the War on the Rocks 2024 holiday reading list.
Ron Granieri is Professor of History and the Chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor of A BETTER PEACE.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: Green Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) watch as Commandos from Colombia practice marksmanship skills with the M4 Carbine in Tolemaida, Colombia, May 17, 2012. 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) have been a valuable asset in the training of these Commandos.
Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Fernando Lozano Courtesy of 1st Special Forces Command – Airborne Facebook page
