Ohio National Guard security force assistance battalion to case unit colors ahead of inactivation

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 5th Battalion, 54th Security Force Assistance Regiment, located in Columbus, will conduct a casing of the colors ceremony at 1 p.m., on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, at the Defense Supply Center Columbus, 401 N. Yearling Ave., Building 2, Columbus OH 43213.

The ceremony is a traditional military event where a unit’s organizational colors are lowered, rolled and placed into a protective sheath. The ceremony precedes the battalion’s official removal from the Ohio Army National Guard’s force structure, effective June 15, 2027.

The unit’s inactivation is directed by recent Army force structure changes that shift focus from foreign military advising to large-scale combat readiness.

The 5th Battalion, 54th Security Force Assistance Regiment was organized Sept. 1, 2018, in the Ohio Army National Guard as an element of the 54th Security Force Assistance Brigade, with headquarters in Indiana. Between 2022 and 2026, the battalion mobilized eight engineer advisor teams, one signal advisor team and one military intelligence advisor team in support
of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and U.S. Southern Command operations.

The 5-54th SFAR is among the specialized units under the U.S. Army Security Force Assistance Command. Its core mission is training, advising, assisting, enabling, and accompanying operations with U.S. allies and partner nations to build regional security and stability.

The Army created the security force assistance concept in 2017 to build the capacity of foreign military forces, similar to missions conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan.