TIRANA, July 1 /ATA/ – The United States Army’s Security Forces Assistance Brigade (SFAB) was formally activated in Albania on Friday, a military unit that will train and advice Albanian army’s Light Infantry Battle.
Importance of interoperability of NATO Allies in a new regional and global security terrain was highlighted during the activation ceremony attended by the United States Ambassador Yuri Kim and the Albanian Defence Minister Niko Peleshi.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Defence Minister Peleshi highly praised the U.S. continued support and assistance for Albania’s Armed Forces.
Emphasizing the very important decisions made at the recent NATO Summit in Madrid, as well as the new strategic concept of the Alliance, Peleshi affirmed Albania’s strong commitment alongside its military allies.
“Not only Albania will continue to be part of the NATO troops n the Eastern flank of the Alliance through presence of our presence in Latvia, but it will also boost its contribution in Bulgaria as part of new battalion groups due to be established in several member countries. We will continue to seriously and professionally meet our obligations to the Alliance,” Peleshi said.
In her speech, U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim said that SFAB activation in Albania is another important step towards taking U.S.-Albania relations to new heights.
“On March 9, we established in Tirana the headquarters the Balkans Task Group of U.S. Special Forces – the first persistent presence of U.S. forces in Albania in history. Today, we are pleased to formally activate another element of our presence: the U.S Army’s Security Force Assistance Brigade, also known as SFAB. SFAB, which is the premier military training unit of our military, is partnering with the premier Albanian military unit – the Light Infantry Battle Group – to strengthen Albania’s military capabilities. The Light Infantry Battle Group has already made significant strides toward meeting its NATO capability targets.
Ambassador Kim underlined that “under Minister Peleshi and Brigadier General Kingji, Albanian forces continue to improve through modernization, infrastructure development, and structural changes that will play an important role in not only Albania, but regional and global security. Indeed, Russia’s unprovoked, unjustifiable, brutal invasion of Ukraine makes clear that the capabilities and interoperability of NATO Allies is critical,” she said.
“The Soldiers of SFAB are proven leaders who are the best at their craft, and they will bring forth their best efforts every hour of every day to ensure that U.S. and Albanian forces can do just that.
Our SFAB Soldiers will also no doubt further strengthen the unbreakable bond between the United States and Albania. To the U.S. and Albanian troops here today, I salute you and I thank you for your contributions to the enduring U.S.-Albanian relationship. The work you will accomplish together will help us build the next 100 years of relations,” Kim concluded.
Activation of the U.S Army’s Security Force Assistance Brigade comes after U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) launched a forward-based headquarters in Albania earlier this year.
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