View source for Rapid reaction force

{{Short description|Military or police unit capable of quickly responding to emergencies}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
[[File:RATS operators on a helicopter.jpeg|thumb|[[Saitama Prefecture|Saitama]] [[Prefectural police|Prefectural Police]] Riot And Tactics Squad (RATS) officers on the side of a [[Police aviation|police helicopter]]. [[Riot Police Unit]]s such as RATS are the rapid reaction forces of Japanese prefectural police.]]

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]] or [[Law enforcement agency|law enforcement]] unit capable of responding to [[emergencies]] in a very short time frame.

== Definition==
[[File:QRF_(quick_reaction_force)_staging_area_at_Camp_Buehring,_Kuwait_circa_2005.jpg|thumb|A [[United States Army]] quick reaction force [[staging area]] at [[Camp Buehring]], [[Kuwait]], in 2005]]

A quick reaction force (QRF) is an armed [[military]] or [[law enforcement]] unit capable of rapidly responding to developing situations. They are equipped to respond to any type of emergency within a short time frame, sometimes only a few minutes, based on unit [[standard operating procedure]]s (SOPs).<ref name="infantrydecipher">{{Cite magazine |author1=Michael T. Chychota |author2=Edwin L. Kennedy Jr. |date=July–September 2014 |title=Who You Gonna Call? Deciphering the Difference Between Reserve, rapid Reaction, Striking and Tactical Combat Forces |url=https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/magazine/issues/2014/Jul-Sep/Chychota.html |url-status=live |magazine=INFANTRY |pages=16–19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115200859/https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/magazine/issues/2014/Jul-Sep/Chychota.html |archive-date=15 November 2019 |access-date=6 January 2021}}</ref> Some can deploy outside their borders and without the need for a large organized support force.<ref name="infantrydecipher"/> [[Cavalry]] units are frequently postured as QRFs, with a main mission of security and [[reconnaissance]].<ref name="global security">{{cite web |title=Quick Reaction Force (QRF) |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/qrf.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810200909/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/qrf.htm |archive-date=10 August 2017 |access-date=17 January 2008 |website=Globalsecurity.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Greg Heath |title=10th Mountain Division Soldiers Provide Quick Reaction Force |url=http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=28302 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926202132/http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=28302 |archive-date=26 September 2015 |access-date=1 December 2015 |website=defense.gov |agency=American Forces Press Service}}</ref> 
A quick reaction force belongs directly to the commander of the unit it is created from and is typically held in the reserve.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jason C. Mackay |title=The CSS Quick Reaction Force |url=http://www.alu.army.mil/alog/issues/MarApr01/MS574.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208112216/http://www.alu.army.mil/alog/issues/MarApr01/MS574.htm |archive-date=8 December 2015 |access-date=1 December 2015}}</ref>

== List ==
===Active===
{{Flagicon|Argentina}} Argentina: [[Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic|Argentine Rapid Deployment Force]]

{{Flagicon|Australia}} Australia: [[3rd Brigade (Australia)|3rd Brigade]]

{{Flagicon|China}} China
* [[People's Armed Police]] [[1st Mobile Corps]]
* [[People's Armed Police]] [[2nd Mobile Corps]]
* [[People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps]] 
* [[People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps]]

{{Flagicon|Colombia}} Colombia: [[National Army of Colombia|Rapid Deployment Force]]

{{Flagicon|Egypt}} Egypt: [[Rapid Deployment Forces (Egypt)|Egyptian Rapid Deployment Forces]]

{{Flagicon|Finland}} Finland: [[Finnish Rapid Deployment Force]]

{{Flagicon|Germany}}/{{Flagicon|Netherlands}} Germany/Netherlands: [[Rapid Forces Division]]

{{Flagicon|IND}} India: [[Rapid Action Force]] 

{{Flagicon|Indonesia}} Indonesia: [[Kopasgat|Indonesian Air Force Quick Reaction Forces Command]]

{{Flagicon|Italy}}/{{Flagicon|NATO}} Italy/NATO: [[NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy]]

{{Flagicon|Japan}} Japan
* [[Central Readiness Regiment]]
* [[Riot Police Unit]]

{{Flagicon|Malaysia}} Malaysia: [[10th Parachute Brigade (Malaysia)|10th Parachute Brigade]]

{{Flagicon|Norway}} Norway: [[Telemark Battalion|Norwegian Telemark Battalion]]

{{Flagicon|Philippines}} Philippines: [[710th Special Operations Wing]]

{{Flagicon|Portugal}} Portugal: [[Rapid Reaction Brigade (Portugal)|Rapid Reaction Brigade]]

{{Flagicon|USSR}}/{{Flagicon|Russia}} Russia/Soviet Union
* [[Russian Airborne Forces]]
* [[Separate Operational Purpose Division]]

{{Flagicon|SIN}} Singapore: [[Army Deployment Force]] 

{{Flagicon|KOR}} South Korea
* [[2nd Quick Response Division (South Korea)|2nd Quick Response Division]] 
* [[Republic of Korea Marine Corps Quick Maneuver Force|ROKMC Quick Maneuver Force]]

{{Flagicon|Sri Lanka}} Sri Lanka: [[Air Mobile Brigade (Sri Lanka)|Air Mobile Brigade]]

{{Flagicon|Thailand}} Thailand 
*31st Infantry Regiment
*3rd Infantry Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division  
*1st Infantry Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division
*1st Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division
*2nd Infantry Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division

{{Flagicon|USA}} United States
*''Military''
**{{flagicon image|Seal of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).svg}} [[Joint Special Operations Command]]
***[[24th Special Tactics Squadron]]
***[[Delta Force]]
***[[Intelligence Support Activity]]
***[[Regimental Reconnaissance Company]]
***[[SEAL Team Six]]
**{{flag|United States Air Force}}
***[[43rd Air Mobility Operations Group]]
***[[621st Contingency Response Wing]]
***[[Immediate Response Force]] 
***[[List of United States Air Force special tactics squadrons|Special Tactics Squadrons]]
**{{flag|United States Army}}
***[[Immediate Response Force]] 
***[[75th Ranger Regiment]]
***[[XVIII Airborne Corps]]
****[[10th Mountain Division]]
****[[82nd Airborne Division]]
****[[101st Airborne Division]]
**{{flag|United States Coast Guard}}
***[[Deployable Specialized Forces]]
**{{flag|United States Marine Corps}}
***[[Marine expeditionary unit|Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
****[[Maritime Special Purpose Force]]
**{{flag|United States Navy}}
***[[Military_Sealift_Command#Expeditionary_Fast_Transport_Program_N038|Expeditionary Fast Transport]]
***[[List_of_United_States_Navy_aircraft_squadrons#Strike_Fighter_(VFA)_squadrons|Fleet Logistics Support squadrons]]

*''Law Enforcement''
**{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States Department of Justice.svg}} Department of Justice
***[[Bureau_of_Alcohol,_Tobacco,_Firearms_and_Explosives#Special_Response_Teams|ATF's Special Response Teams]]
***DEA's [[Drug_Enforcement_Administration#Special_Response_Teams|Special Response Teams]]
***FBI's [[Hostage Rescue Team]] 
***[[United_States_Marshals_Service#Special_Operations_Group|USMS' Special Operations Group]]
**{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_United_States_Department_of_Energy.svg}} Department of Energy: [[Federal Protective Forces]]
**{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States Department of Homeland Security.svg}} Department of Homeland Security
***[[Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue]] and [[Border Patrol Tactical Unit]]
***CBP's [[U.S._Customs_and_Border_Protection#U.S._Customs_and_Border_Protection_Officer_(CBPO)|Special Response Team]]
***HSI's [[United_States_Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcement#HSI_Special_Response_Teams|Special Response Teams]]
***TSA's [[Federal Air Marshal Service|Air Marshals]]
***USSS' [[Secret Service Counter Assault Team]]

====Multinational====
{{Flagicon|EU}} European Union
*The [[European Gendarmerie Force]] (EUROGENDFOR) serves as a unified intervention force of European militarized police.
*[[EU Battlegroup]]

{{Flagicon|NATO}} NATO
*The [[Allied Rapid Reaction Corps]] (ARRC) is a capable of rapidly deploying a NATO headquarters for operations and crisis response.
*The [[NATO Response Force]] (NRF) is distinct from ARRC as it comprises [[Army|land]], [[Navy|sea]], [[Air force|air]], and [[special forces]] units.

===Defunct===
*The [[European Rapid Operational Force]] (EUROFOR) was a European rapid reaction force under the European Union and [[Western European Union]], established in 1995 and composed of military units from Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. EUROFOR was tasked with performing duties outlined in the [[Petersberg Declaration|Petersberg Tasks]]. EUROFOR deployed to [[Kosovo]] from 2000 to 2001, and [[North Macedonia]] as part of [[EUFOR Concordia]] in 2003. After being converted into an [[EU Battlegroup]], EUROFOR was dissolved in 2012.
*[[Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Africa]]
*[[Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command]]

== Proposed ==
* {{Flagicon|EU}} 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 army|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.
* {{Flagicon|United Kingdom}} The [[Joint Rapid Reaction Force]] (JRRF) was a [[British Armed Forces]] 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 (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]] 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]] in 2010 and the [[Joint Expeditionary Force]] in 2014.
* {{Flagicon|United Nations}} The concept of a [[United Nations peacekeeping#Rapid reaction force|United Nations rapid reaction force]] was proposed in the mid-1990s by several commentators and officials, including [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]] [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]]. 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 exercise]]s. The force would remain at high readiness at all times so as to quickly deploy them where necessary.<ref>{{Cite book |last=M. |first=Serafino, Nina |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/50077294 |title=A U.N. Rapid Reaction Force? A Discussion of the Issues and Considerations for U.S. Policymakers |date=1995 |publisher=Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress |oclc=50077294}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|USA}} The [[Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force]] (RDJTF) was a former [[United States Department of Defense]] [[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]] and [[East Asia]], soon coming to focus on the [[Middle East]]. It was inactivated in 1983 and reorganized as the [[United States Central Command]].

==See also==
* [[Expeditionary warfare]]
* [[Power projection]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Rapid reaction force units and formations|*]]
[[Category:Military deployment]]
[[Category:Expeditionary units and formations| ]]
[[Category:Force protection tactics]]