The most important military component of the struggle against violent extremists is not the fighting we do ourselves, but how well we help prepare our partners to defend and govern themselves . National Defense Strategy 2008 The United States is unlikely to repeat another Iraq or Afghanistan —that is, forced regime change followed by nation building under fire—anytime soon. But that does not mean it may not face similar challenges in a variety of locales. Where possible, U.S. strategy is to employ indirect approaches—primarily through building the capacity of partner governments and their security forces—to prevent festering problems from turning into crises that require costly and controversial direct military intervention. In this kind of effort, the capabilities of the United States' allies and partners may be as important as its own, and building their capacity is arguably as important as, if not more so than, the fighting the United States does itself. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, January 2009 Security force assistance (SFA) is defined by the Department of Defense (DOD) as department activities that contribute to unified action by the U.S. government to support the development of the capacity and capability of foreign security forces and their supporting institutions. It encompasses all activities formerly consolidated under the term "military training and advisory assistance." SFA is intended to be a U.S. means to develop, within a host nation, an enduring capability to establish and maintain security, provide legitimate governance, and foster development programs that address root grievances. Security force assistance is an overarching concept that ties into several interests of Congress, including security assistance, security cooperation, foreign military financing, foreign military sales, foreign affairs, foreign aid, overseas contingency operations, and legislative authorities associated with training foreign forces (Foreign Assistance Act, P.L. 87-195; 22 U.S.C. 2151). (see Figure 6 ). Security force assistance relates to several significant issues in which Congress may have interest and oversight. SFA is considered key to engaging underdeveloped, undergoverned nations in a preventive context linked to counterterrorism strategy. Its basic premise, widely endorsed by analysts and within DOD, is that developing nascent military and governance capabilities in nations that could either stabilize or tip into anarchy prevents the conditions that would devolve into nesting grounds for terrorists. SFA is central to U.S. strategy for ensuring that Afghanistan and Iraq will be responsible for their own future stability and security. The services' ability to provide trainers/advisors to Central Command (CENTCOM) is at the nexus of reconstruction and stability operations in those countries. Congress may want to further consider policies to ensure that allies and coalition forces are contributing to this requirement. Congress may also consider the extent to which the capability that these nations attain through coalition SFA is sustainable and how it will impact future years' budgets. SFA is linked to security cooperation and security assistance efforts through a diverse portfolio of legislative authorities, reporting requirements, and congressional oversight functions. While these authorities provide for significant oversight from several committees, Congress might decide to consolidate these authorities into pooled or multiyear funding intended to expedite a comprehensive and transparent approach. Security force assistance (SFA), in general terms, supports the development of foreign security forces (usually military and law enforcement) so as to meet U.S. national security objectives. SFA spans many types of operations. It can be a component of conventional operations or it can support or be conducted in conjunction with irregular warfare operations, stability operations, security cooperation, and security assistance. Through SFA, foreign forces are trained to operate across the spectrum of conflict—combating internal threats such as insurgency, subversion, and lawlessness, defending against external threats, or serving as coalition partners/peacekeepers in other areas (see Figure 1 ). The resulting forces must possess the capability to accomplish the variety of required missions, with sufficient capacity to succeed and sustain themselves as long as required. SFA may be understood as the security forces equivalent of "teaching a man to fish." Its ultimate goal is to develop security forces that contribute to the legitimate governance of the host nation population. This is done by developing foreign security forces that are competent, capable, committed, and confident, not only in the eyes of U.S. (and potentially coalition) forces and the host nation government, but more critically, in the eyes of that nation's population, as well as in the eyes of prospective opponents. The conduct of SFA is not limited to the Department of Defense. It includes coordinated efforts across the multi-service, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational spectrum. This is significant in that, while SFA is an overarching approach to meeting the nation's security needs, legislation and oversight for its implementation span several different government agencies and congressional committees (see " How SFA Fits into U.S. Strategy and Administration Policy "). The National Security Council (NSC) will generally provide the initial guidance and clarification of national-level decisions pertaining to SFA. The Department of State (DOS) is generally the lead government agency and assists the NSC in building and carrying out national policies and priorities. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) carries out nonmilitary assistance programs designed to assist certain less developed nations to increase their productive capacities and improve their quality of life. The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) support the mission in both a national-level advisory capacity and at the regional and country levels through direct support of SFA activities. Although SFA is considered a "whole-of-government" activity, this report focuses primarily on the military aspect of training, advising, and assisting. The Department of Defense is the largest agency with the most resources available to conduct SFA missions. Still, while there have been specific instances (such as Iraq and Afghanistan) in which Congress has given DOD authority to train and equip forces of a specified country, it is important to emphasize that DOD generally trains and equips foreign military forces under State Department Title 22 authority and through State Department programs. Additionally, DOD has frequently encouraged Congress to increase DOS's capacity to conduct the nonmilitary aspects of engagement and capacity building (SFA). (See Figure 2 .) As described earlier, while the U.S. military services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines) organize, train, and equip to meet SFA mission requirements, it is the combatant commanders who carry out the operations in their respective theaters. The National Security Strategy outlines the overarching approach for the nation. This is articulated to the regional combatant commanders, who, in turn, develop theater-specific security cooperation plans. Included in these plans are "critical partners," a select group of countries or organizations that directly receive U.S. security cooperation resources because their collaboration or assistance is essential to achieving regional or functional objectives. Additionally, "key supporting partners" are countries or organizations that assist a command in working with critical partners to achieve one or more of the command's strategic end states. They are key supporting partners because they are militarily competent and can complement or supplement U.S. capabilities. National security strategy objectives are overarching in nature and are designed to support broader U.S. government foreign policy. They usually reflect longer-term goals that cannot be achieved in the near or mid-term, and many may exceed the combatant commander's capability to achieve alone. Thus combatant commanders are tasked with establishing achievable, intermediate military objectives that directly and materially contribute to the achievement of the longer-term campaign end states provided in national security objectives. The guidance provided to combatant commanders allows great latitude in how they may construct their campaign plans to achieve these objectives. The initial campaign plans reflect varied approaches, particularly in terms of intermediate military objectives, which range from broad theater objectives to country-specific ones. The U.S. diplomatic mission to a host nation is the coordinator of SFA activities in that country. The diplomatic mission includes representatives of all U.S. departments and agencies physically present in the country. The President gives the chief of the diplomatic mission, normally an ambassador, full responsibility for the direction, coordination, and supervision of all executive branch employees within the mission and host country, except for employees under the command of a U.S. military commander (22 U.S.C. Section 3927). Close coordination by the chief of mission and military counterparts at the respective regional combatant command are a prerequisite for SFA operations that support the host nation's internal defense and development (IDAD) program and U.S. regional goals and objectives. Country teams develop the agenda and objectives for developing the capacity of a host nation's security forces. Before any military training teams set foot in country, their activities are vetted and scrutinized by the embassy. SFA missions are crafted by DOS and DOD counterparts so that the capabilities developed in the host nation are commensurate with the diplomatic goals of the U.S. government. Embassy country teams also ensure that such efforts are coordinated with the security objectives of the host nation receiving the training. (See Figure 3 .) However, some analysts recognize a disconnect in interagency coordination for SFA in the State Department's lack of regional coordination equivalent to that of a military regional combatant commander. Regional bureaus at DOS in Washington, DC, provide policy guidance to embassies but usually do not operate major programs. Nor are regional bureaus in DOS geographically aligned with military combatant commanders. Although guidance to a particular embassy is coordinated within the State Department, it goes directly from Washington to the affected country rather than through a Regional Combatant Command-equivalent organization. The military services provide technical and operational expertise through scaled-to-need groups known as mobile training teams (MTTs).