Quick reaction force

Definition

A quick reaction force (QRF) is an armed military 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 procedures (SOPs). Some can deploy outside their borders and without the need for a large organized support force. A quick reaction force belongs directly to the commander of the unit it is created from and is typically held in the reserve. QRF units can be assigned to an area of operations (AO) or can be associated with a specific operation, for example Neptune Spear, when reserve units were used to support the main force following the crash of a helicopter.