The Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF) was a capability concept of the

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

from 1999 to 2010. It was a pool of specialised units from all three

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

tasked with

rapid deployment A rapid deployment force is a military formation that is capable of fast deployment. Such forces typically consist of elite military units (special forces, paratroopers, marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force tra ...

worldwide at short notice. The force was intended to be capable of mounting operations up to medium scale warfighting. It could be employed nationally, or multinationally under the auspices of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

or any other

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

. The JRRF was an initiative in the 1998

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of t ...

. An initial rapid reaction capability was declared in April 1999 and was fully operational in 2001. It was originally intended that JRRF would be able to mount up to two simultaneous operations of up to 15,000 personnel each. A major

military exercise A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...

called

Saif Sareea II Exercise Saif Sareea ( ar, سيف سريع ) is a series of military exercises undertaken by the United Kingdom and Oman which first began in 1986 and most recently took place in 2018. Saif Sareea 1 Exercise Saif Sareea 1 was the first exercise h ...

was held in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

in September 2001 to test the deployment of the JRRF. In the event of the JRRF being activated, the force commander was the Chief of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force (CJRRFO) who was responsible to the Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) at the

Permanent Joint Headquarters The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headquarter ...

at Northwood. A Joint Task Force HQ (JTFHQ) would have accompanied the force to provide local command, which was maintained at 48 hours' notice to move. Until deployed, operational control of the various units was the responsibility of the single-service Commanders-in-Chief. Because of the United Kingdom's simultaneous commitments to operations in the War in Afghanistan from 2001 and the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, there were insufficient uncommitted forces to support the JRRF. In 2010, the

Lancaster House Treaties The Lancaster House Treaties of 2010 are two Treaty, treaties between the United Kingdom and France for defence and security cooperation. They were signed at 10 Downing Street on 2 November 2010 by British prime minister David Cameron and Frenc ...

gave rise to the Anglo-French

Combined Joint Expeditionary Force The Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) is an Anglo-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 command and c ...

(CJEF), which restored a rapid deployment capability, although there are no permanently assigned forces. In 2012, proposals were unveiled for the

UK Joint Expeditionary Force The UK Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is a United Kingdom-led expeditionary force which consists of, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Eight of the countries are also members of NATO, wit ...

, which can be deployed as an all-British force, or preferably in combination with other European allies.

Forces

The Joint Rapid Reaction Force can be deployed in three phases. The first element is known as the Spearhead Forces that are kept at a high state of readiness. This is composed of: *The

Spearhead Land Element The Spearhead Lead Element (SLE), sometimes referred to as the Spearhead Land Element, is the principal high-readiness component of the British Armed Forces under the operational control of the Permanent Joint Headquarters. It is typically a battle ...

(SLE) of

special forces Special forces and 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 ...

( SAS or SBS), and either a

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

battalion or a

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group. *The Spearhead Naval Force (SNF) of two

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s or

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s, an

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called "mul ...

and a support ship of the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

. Following that, if required, is the First Echelon, composed of *A Maritime Task Group of major warships *A

Mine Countermeasures A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...

Group *An

Amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

Task Group which can deploy *A Joint Landing Force drawn from either

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

16 Air Assault Brigade 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, from 1999 to 2021 16 Air Assault Brigade, is a formation of the British Army based in Colchester in the county of Essex. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only brigade in the Britis ...

. In the final phase, a Second Echelon may be deployed, with further major naval units and ground forces from

1st (UK) Armoured Division The 1st (United Kingdom) Division, formerly known as the 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division and the 1st Division, is a division of the British Army. Divisional history (1809–1959) The 1st Division was formed following the disbandment of ...

and 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division. All of these elements can be supported by helicopters, transport and combat aircraft as required.

Deployments

Elements of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force were activated for the

British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War The United Kingdom began a military intervention in Sierra Leone on 7 May 2000 under the codename Operation Palliser. Although small numbers of British personnel had been deployed previously, Palliser was the first large-scale intervention by B ...

in May to September 2000. The Spearhead Land Element consisted of the standby special forces squadron and

1 PARA The 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment (1 PARA), is a battalion of the British Army's Parachute Regiment. Along with various other regiments and corps from across the British Armed Forces, it is part of Special Forces Support Group. A specia ...

plus a single rifle company of 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, both part of 16 Air Assault Brigade. Also deployed was an air element provided by the

Joint Helicopter Command Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes. History Background Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppor ...

, consisting of four RAF

CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems#Background, Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is a ...

s which flew direct to Sierra Leone from the UK. A Royal Navy Carrier Group led by HMS ''Illustrious'' and an Amphibious Task Group led by were also deployed. Elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade were deployed to the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

as a spearhead for

Operation Essential Harvest Operation Essential Harvest (or Task Force Harvest) was a deployment mission in the Republic of Macedonia by NATO, officially launched on August 22, 2001, and effectively started on August 27. Because national contributions were larger than expecte ...

in August 2001, a NATO operation in support of a ceasefire ending the

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...

. The brigade also formed the United Kingdom's first response to 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) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

.Ripley p. 154)

References

External links

The Permanent Joint Headquarters
(gov.uk) - some information on the JRRF as of December 2012 {{Authority control 21st-century military history of the United Kingdom 1999 in military history 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom

Forces

Deployments

See also

References

External links