CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait -- The 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade (SFAB) entered the 1st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) theater gateway at Camp Buehring Feb. 21, deploying into the Central Command Area of Responsibility (CENTCOM AOR).

The 1st SFAB transitioned into Afghanistan where they will be training, advising and assisting the Afghan National Defense Security Forces. This major shift of U.S. military forces to Afghanistan will look to improve the Afghan military’s ability to defend their own country.

Staff Sgt. Warren Palmer, master trainer and senior intelligence advisor, Delta Company, 5th Battalion, 1st SFAB, spoke about how the 1st SFAB advises foreign military nationals.

“The countries that we are supporting have been at war for a long time,” said Palmer. “We are supporting and advising their conventional forces at a company and team level. We’re bringing in specialized troops, from intelligence specialists such as myself, to infantry as well as field artillery.”

While at Camp Buehring, 1st SFAB Soldiers trained on the Egress Rollover Mine Resistant Ambush Protector (MRAP) Training Simulator. This simulation taught the Soldiers how to react if the MRAP were to roll over, either half-way or a full revolution.

“The MRAP has a high center of gravity,” said Palmer. “The MRAP can turnover if a wheel is turned to sharp, or if one wheel goes off one side of the road. These vehicles are designed to withstand an Improvised Explosive Device but even the force impact coming up from underneath the vehicle can enable a rollover to occur. If we feel a rollover is going to happen, when the vehicle is at a 45-50 degree angle, we shout out special instructors inside the vehicle so that every person inside is made ready for impact.”

MRAP training teaches Soldiers to pay attention to even the smallest of details.

“A valuable tool we learn is how to properly store your equipment in case a rollover occurs,” said Palmer. Palmer continued, “A seven-pound ammo can could easily become a deadly projectile during a rollover.”

In addition to the MRAP, a select number of 1st SFAB Soldiers received Small Unmanned Arial Systems (SUAS), Counter Unmanned Arial Systems (CUAS) and Drone Defender training. This training teaches 1st SFAB Soldiers how to use drones to locate targets as well as capture enemy drones flying through the air.

Palmer described the differences in the drone training, as well as using the Drone Defender.

“We mainly focus on the SUAS,” said Palmer. “This type of drone is classified as 20 pounds of less. With the bigger sized drones, we use Instant Eye technology, allowing us to see the area we are working in and help us identify potential targets.”

The 1st SFAB trained on the PD-100, or what’s known as the Black Hornet.

“This drone weighs about 18 grams and can go as high as two miles in the sky. Clearly, it’s hard for anybody to see it up there without the properly technology. That’s a huge advantage for us.”

Lastly, the 1st SFAB trained on the Drone Defender.

“The Drone Defender is basically a modified M-4,” Palmer explained. “It’s used in theater as a CUAS system. [When the trigger is fired], it overpowers the C2 node of any enemy drone in the area as well as the GPS system, effectively taking it out of the sky.”

The 1st SFAB unit is a volunteer unit composed mainly of senior active duty officers and noncommissioned officers who bring experience in their specific job field.

“The 1st SFAB unit consists of the best of the best,” said Palmer. “It’s volunteer, and that allows the committee board to make good selections of whom they want. We go through a full gambit of tests, from physical fitness all the way to cognitive memorization skills. It’s a two-and-a-half-day process culminating with a final board.”

The 1st SFAB held an activation ceremony Feb. 8, 2017 at Fort Benning, Ga. They’re currently accepting packets from mature Soldiers from a variety of Military Occupational Specialty positions.