Richard D. Hooker, Jr.
Introduction
For years, NATO has fielded a NATO Response Force (NRF), spearheaded of late by a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, or VJTF. The NRF rotates among nations, but regardless of which one holds the reins, it has never been felt to be up to the task of rapid deployment and employment in times of crisis.1 The current crisis in Ukraine, following Russia’s aggression in Georgia, the Donbas, and Crimea, underscores the importance of a credible NATO combat force that can move quickly to reassure allies and deter short-notice Russian offensive actions on NATO territory.2
By definition, this force must be air transportable, able to arrive and commence operations within ten days, and thus not an armored or mechanized force arriving overland by rail and road. For decades, NATO fielded this capability in the form of the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force, or AMF. Deactivated a generation ago, the AMF featured many capabilities that are in high demand today. As the Russian Federation threatens to upset the balance of power in the European security space, the time is right to revive the AMF in a new form: the NATO Rapid Reaction Force, or NRRF.
As the Russian Federation threatens to upset the balance of power in the European security space, the time is right to revive the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force in a new form: the NATO Rapid Reaction Force, or NRRF.
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