The NATO Response Force – NRF

SHAPE, Casteau -- One of the most important decisions the leaders of NATO’s 19 nations have taken in recent years is the formation of the rapid reaction NATO Response Force. Its development has become a centrepiece and an engine of change for the Alliance as it transforms and positions itself to meet the threats to security and stability in the 21st Century.

Background

NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson stated at the 2002 Prague Summit that, “NATO must change radically if it is to be effective…. It must modernize or be marginalized.” General James L. Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, who is responsible for the creation of the NRF, has selected 15 October 2003 as the date for the force to have an initial response capability. Gen Jones has declared that the formation of the NRF is his top priority.

The NATO Heads of State agreed to the concept of a robust, readily deployable and credible force, at the Prague Summit held in November 2002. The agreement was reached in light of the universal acknowledgement that NATO’s present structure is overburdened by excessive and inflexible Cold War era infrastructure, too many troops, and equipment designed for traditional 20th century defence and warfare. “We have too much capability for the past and not enough capacity for the future,” Gen. Jones has said. The NRF is the way ahead and puts the spirit of Prague into practical application.

NATO leaders recognized that modern, flexible, rapidly deployable joint, meaning sea, land and air forces are required to meet and defeat today’s asymmetrical threats, the most notable one being terrorism. The force will also encompass the longstanding peace enforcement and peace building experience the member nations have acquired up over many years.

Role

The role of the NRF is to provide an integrated and fully interoperable sea, land and air capability, under one command, wherever the North Atlantic Council requires, to prevent conflict or threat from escalating into a wider dispute. This is an entirely new concept for NATO which has traditionally used its resources independently from one another. For example, the intervention in the Balkans was primarily a land campaign, the Kosovo conflict was an air campaign, and our presence in the Mediterranean is a naval operation.

The missions for the NRF are yet to be determined, however the global reach is an important element, especially today as NATO forces are committed in Kabul, the Balkans including Kosovo and the Mediterranean. However the NRF will deploy when and where necessary, in support of the collective will of the Alliance. Non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian crisis, crisis response including peacekeeping, counter terrorism, and embargo operations are all potential missions. The NRF will be the initial entry force facilitating, if necessary, the arrival of follow-on forces.

Time frame

On 16 July 2003, delegates from the member nations met at SHAPE for an initial force generation conference. This was the first opportunity to propose and contribute forces to the NRF. On 15 October 2003, the date the NRF will stand up, it will be a small ‘prototype’ force that can be adjusted as the top NATO leaders better understand its missions and capabilities.

Initial Operational Capability is scheduled for October 2004. When final Operating Capability is reached by the fall of 2006, its troop size will be set at 21,000. The NRF will have dedicated, cutting-edge fighter aircraft, ships, army vehicles, combat service support, logistics, communications, intelligence, and whatever is required to make it a highly readiness, credible force.

The NRF will be tailored to a specific operation as required. In general terms, it will be based on a brigade size land element, including special operations forces. It will include a joint naval task force and the air element will be capable of 200 sorties a day. The forces will be drawn from NATO’s force structure contributed by the nations.

Commands and Capabilities

In terms of the new NATO command structure, Allied Command Operations (ACO) at SHAPE has the operational lead for the NRF. This includes standards, certification of the forces, as well as exercises. Allied Command Transformation (ACT), based in Norfolk, Virginia will adapt future capabilities, including emerging technologies, and develop the doctrine for the force.

The NRF will be formed within NATO’s Regional Headquarters under the overall command of SACEUR, with operational command delegated to the Regional Commanders. The force will operate on a rotational basis. The cycle is based on a period of unit and interoperability training, followed by a six-month ‘on-call’ period. UK General Sir Jack Deverell, Commander Allied Forces Northern Europe in Brunssum, the Netherlands, will assume the first rotational command. US Admiral Johnson, Commander AF South in Naples will command the second, and the new Joint Force Headquarters in Portugal is expected to command the third.

The NRF is designed to be a robust, high readiness, fully trained and certified force that is prepared to tackle the full spectrum of missions, including force. When NATO decides to employ it, the NRF will be ready to deploy in five days and will be able to sustain itself for 30 days. Based of recent scenarios, planners consider this to be sufficient time to contain and deter a given threat and restore stability, or to signal that more robust, graduated readiness forces are required to stabilize a given situation.

The NRF will have standards of readiness and mission that will be higher than anything NATO has possessed before. The forces offered by the nations and selected to make up the NRF will be certified to the highest standards before they are approved and integrated. Proven capability and interoperability are key elements for successful certification of the force.

Challenges

There are many challenges facing the leaders of the member nations as they engage in the process of creating an entirely new force with the right mix of personnel and equipment. Paramount is the need for the 19 nations, soon to be 26, to agree on the complex and expensive processes whereby military forces of NATO must be transformed from Cold War thinking and structure, to 21st Century requirements.

As previously stated, the need to make revolutionary changes has been recognized and accepted by the leaders at Prague. However the costly means of effecting appropriate change and deciding what to do with outdated equipment and infrastructure that are so closely tied to national economies, is a great challenge. Moreover, to institute and implement a decision-making process within NATO that can launch a highly capable, high readiness force within five days, will require determined political commitment.

NATO remains a vital institution in today’s Europe, North America and the world. As the asymmetric threats to global peace and security evolve in sinister ways and increase in potency, NATO must initiate the most effective means of containing and defeating the challenges. The NRF provides the Alliance with a comprehensive set of sea, land and air resources, highly trained and capable of immediate response wherever and whenever they are required.

In General Jones’ words, “Through successful integration, you get a more capable force that can accomplish more things. The symmetry gained from the cohesion of the sea, land and air resources allows forces to operate at greater distances, more efficiently and more successfully than operating in isolation or parallel situations.”

NATO is the guarantor of the trans-atlantic link in security. Its relevance, effectiveness and future, depend on co-operation, consultation and a shared vision for the 21st Century. The formation of the NRF, together with the new military command structure that is currently evolving in Europe and in Norfolk, Virginia, and the accession of new nations, is the foundation for transforming and revitalizing the Alliance.

Lord Robertson and General Jones are leading advocates for a NATO that is equally relevant today as it was in the 20th Century. An agile, flexible, credible NRF with a global reach will be instrumental in transforming NATO into a much stronger and more effective military alliance with world wide influence. The NRF will provide NATO with the immediate capability it requires to influence the processes of defence, security and stability.