A rapid reaction force / rapid response force (RRF), quick reaction force / quick response force (QRF), immediate reaction force (IRF), rapid deployment force (RDF), or quick maneuver force (QMF) is a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

unit capable of responding to emergencies in a very short time frame.

Types

Quick reaction force

A quick reaction force (QRF) is an armed

unit capable of rapidly responding to developing situations, usually to assist allied units in need of assistance. They are equipped to respond to any type of emergency within a short time frame, often only a few minutes, based on unit

standard operating procedure A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out routine operations. SOPs aim to achieve efficiency, quality output, and uniformity of performance, while reducing mis ...

s (SOPs).

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

units are frequently postured as QRFs, with a main mission of security and

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

. A quick reaction force belongs directly to the commander of the unit it is created from and is typically held in the reserve.

Rapid deployment force

A rapid deployment force (RDF) is a military formation that is capable of fast deployment outside their country's borders. They typically consist of well-trained military units (special forces, paratroopers, marines, etc.) that can be deployed fairly quickly or on short notice, usually from other major assets and without requiring a large organized support force immediately.

List

Rapid reaction force

* The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

rapid reaction force, established in 1992. A successor to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

's I Corps, the ARRC is capable of rapidly deploying a NATO headquarters for operations and crisis response. * The

European Gendarmerie Force The European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR) is a European rapid reaction force composed of elements of several European police and gendarmerie forces. EUROGENDFOR is tasked with performing policing tasks within the scope of crisis management ope ...

(EUROGENDFOR) is a European rapid reaction force under the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, established in 2006. An alliance of

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

forces from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, it serves as a unified intervention force of European militarized police. * The European Rapid Operational Force (EUROFOR) was a European rapid reaction force under the European Union and

Western European Union The Western European Union (WEU; , UEO; , WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (alliance) , Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 Treaty of Brussels. The WEU implement ...

, established in 1995 and composed of military units from Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. EUROFOR was tasked with performing duties outlined in the Petersberg Tasks. EUROFOR deployed to

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

from 2000 to 2001, and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

as part of EUFOR Concordia in 2003. After being converted into an EU Battlegroup, EUROFOR was dissolved in 2012. * The European Rapid Reaction Force (ERRF) was the intended result of the Helsinki Headline Goal. Though many media reports suggested the ERRF would be a European Union army, the Helsinki Headline Goal was little more than headquarters arrangements and a list of theoretically available national forces for a rapid reaction force. * The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a NATO rapid reaction force, established in 2003. Distinct from the ARRC, the NRF comprises

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

, and

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

units that can be deployed quickly. * The concept of a United Nations rapid reaction force was proposed in the mid-1990s by several commentators and officials, including

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992 to 1996. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Boutros-Gha ...

. The UN rapid reaction force would consist of personnel stationed in their home countries, but they would have the same training, equipment, and procedures, and would conduct joint exercises. The force would remain at high readiness at all times so as to quickly deploy them where necessary. * Riot Police Units (RPU) are the rapid reaction forces of Japanese prefectural police. They combine riot police,

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

s, and

disaster response Disaster response refers to the actions taken directly before, during, or immediately after a disaster. The objective is to save lives, ensure health and safety, and meet the subsistence needs of the people affected.UNGA (2016)Report of the open- ...

squads under one unit. Each prefectural police force operates RPUs, sometimes under different names. * Rapid Action Force of India * Army Deployment Force of Singapore * 2nd Quick Response Division ROK Marine Corps Quick Maneuver Force * The Immediate Response Force (IRF) is an American rapid reaction force composed of units from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. They are capable of responding to any location in the world within 18 hours of notice. * The

Joint Rapid Reaction Force The Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF) was a capability concept of the British Armed Forces from 1999 to 2010. It was a pool of specialised units from all three armed services tasked with Rapid deployment force, rapid deployment worldwide at short ...

(JRRF) was a

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

capability concept created in 1999. The force was composed of units from all three branches of the British military, and was able to rapidly deploy anywhere in the world at short notice. However, the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

and 2003 invasion of Iraq siphoned British personnel and equipment, leaving the JRRF with insufficient forces. The JRRF was succeeded by the

Combined Joint Expeditionary Force The Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF, , FEIC) is a UK–French military force. It draws upon both the British Armed Forces and the French Armed Forces to field a deployable force with land, air and maritime components together with comma ...

in 2010 and the Joint Expeditionary Force in 2014. *

People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...

1st Mobile Corps *

2nd Mobile Corps

Rapid deployment force

* Argentine Rapid Deployment Force * 3rd Brigade * Rapid Deployment Force * Egyptian Rapid Deployment Forces * Finnish Rapid Deployment Force * / Rapid Forces Division * Indonesian Air Force Quick Reaction Forces Command * / NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy * Central Readiness Regiment * ROKMC Quick Maneuver Force * 10th Parachute Brigade * Norwegian Telemark Battalion * 710th Special Operations Wing * Rapid Reaction Brigade * Air Mobile Brigade * The Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) is divided into two types. The first is the airborne force responsible for the 31st Infantry Regiment, King Bhumibol's Guard. The second is infantry battalions designated as RDF, each Army Area has one RDF battalion including The 3rd Infantry Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division was designated the RDF of the First Army Area. • The 1st Infantry Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division was designated the RDF of the Second Army Area. • The 1st Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division was designated the RDF of the Third Army Area. • The 2nd Infantry Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division was designated the RDF of the Fourth Army Area. * The

Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force The Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) is an inactive United States Department of Defense Joint Task Force. It was first envisioned as a three- division force in 1979 as the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), a highly mobile rapid deployment ...

(RDJTF) was a former

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

joint task force. It was formed in 1979 as the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), envisioned as a mobile force that could quickly deploy U.S. forces to any location outside the usual American deployment areas of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

and

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, soon coming to focus on the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. It was inactivated in 1983 and reorganized as the

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...

. *

Marine Expeditionary Unit A Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU, pronounced as one syllable "" IPA: ) is the smallest Marine air-ground task force, air-ground task force (MAGTF) in the United States Fleet Marine Force.XVIII Airborne Corps *

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

* / Russian Airborne Forces * Separate Operational Purpose Division * EU Battlegroup * People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps * People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps

References

{{reflist * Military deployment Force protection tactics

Types

Quick reaction force

Rapid deployment force

List

Rapid reaction force

Rapid deployment force

See also

References