Allied Rapid Reaction Corps | |
---|---|
Active | 1 October 1992 - Present |
Country | United Kingdom and 22 other nations |
Branch | British Army and 22 others |
Type | High Readiness Force (Land) HQ NATO Response Force Land Component Command (2017) |
Part of | SHAPE |
Garrison/HQ | Imjin Barracks, Innsworth |
Motto(s) | Audentis fortuna iuvat Fortune favours the brave |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Wooddisse, KCB, CBE, MC (British Army) |
Deputy Commander | Major General Gianluca Carai (Italian Army) |
Chief of Staff | Major General Mike Keating, CBE (British Army) |
The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a rapid reaction force maintained by NATO. It is capable of deploying a High Readiness Force (Land) Headquarters at short notice for operations and crisis response.
The ARRC was created on 1 October 1992 in Bielefeld based on the former I (British) Corps (I (BR) Corps). [1] It was originally created as the rapid reaction corps sized land force of the Reaction Forces Concept that emerged after the end of the Cold War, with a mission to redeploy and reinforce within Allied Command Europe (ACE) and to conduct Petersberg missions out of NATO territory. The first commander, appointed in 1992 was General Sir Jeremy Mackenzie. [2]
From 1994 the ARRC was based in the Rheindahlen Military Complex, Germany. It commanded the Land Forces of NATO's first ever deployment as part of the Implementation Force operation in Bosnia in 1995/6 and was again deployed as the headquarters commanding Land Forces during the Kosovo War in 1999. [3]
In 1997 assigned forces included the 7th Panzer Division; 2nd Greek Mechanised Division; 1st Turkish Mechanised Division (9th Armoured and 28th Mechanised Brigades, plus a third brigade, as assigned); 1st Armored Division; plus other formations, including the 1st and 3rd Divisions, British Army. [4]
Since 2002 however the headquarters has been re-roled (with five other corps HQs of other NATO nations) as a High Readiness Force (Land) HQ (HRF(L)) with a broader mission. The formation HQ is under Operational Command of Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR). The ARRC has a national Force Pool of Combat, Combat Support and Combat Service Support units with which to train and execute its mission. However, in reality COMARRC commands no forces until he receives an Activation Order from SACEUR. On receipt of ACTORD, forces from troop contributing nations, generated through the NATO Force Generation process are passed into his Operational Command for the duration of the operational deployment. [5]
ARRC took command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan on 4 May 2006 and then relocated from Rheindahlen to Imjin Barracks, outside Gloucester in England, in 2010 [6] before deploying to support the ISAF Joint Command Headquarters in Afghanistan in 2011. [7]
ARRC is also regionally aligned with the European region as part of defence engagement. [8]
In September 2021 the structure of HQ ARRC was as follows: [9]
The deployable headquarters infrastructure and communications for HQ ARRC is provided by the 1st Signal Brigade under the Army 2020 concept. [13]
In October 2019, the Italian Division "Acqui", the Danish Division, the 1st Canadian Division, the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division, and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division were assigned to form part of the ARRC if the corps were to be deployed. [14]
In 2021, the United Kingdom's 104 Theatre Sustainment Brigade was transferred under direct control of HQ ARRC. [11] [12] The United Kingdom's 1st Signal Brigade joined by October 2021. [15]
As of 1 September 2017, the ARRC is composed of service members from 23 NATO troop contributing countries: [16]
Commanders have included: [17]
I Corps was an army corps in existence as an active formation in the British Army for most of the 80 years from its creation in the First World War until the end of the Cold War, longer than any other corps. It had a short-lived precursor during the Waterloo Campaign. It served as the operational component of the British Army of the Rhine during the Cold War, and was tasked with defending West Germany.
The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the village of Casteau, near Mons, Belgium.
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename Operation Joint Endeavour.
The 3rd Division, also known as The Iron Division, is a regular army division of the British Army. It was created in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as the Fighting 3rd under Sir Thomas Picton during the Napoleonic Wars. The division fought at the Battle of Waterloo, as well as during the Crimean War and the Second Boer War. As a result of bitter fighting in 1916, during the First World War, the division became referred to as the 3rd (Iron) Division, or the Iron Division or Ironsides. During the Second World War, the division fought in the Battle of France including a rearguard action during the Dunkirk Evacuation, and played a prominent role in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944. The division was to have been part of a proposed Commonwealth Corps, formed for a planned invasion of Japan in 1945–46, and later served in the British Mandate of Palestine. During the Second World War, the insignia became the "pattern of three" — a black triangle trisected by an inverted red triangle.
Imjin Barracks is a British Army installation situated near Innsworth in Gloucestershire, that is home to the headquarters of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC).
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 police unit capable of responding to emergencies in a very short time frame.
JHQRheindahlen was a military base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany active from 1954 to 2013. It functioned as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany and for the NATO Northern Army Group. Latterly it was also known as the Rheindahlen Military Complex, part of Rheindahlen Garrison. It was named after the local village of Rheindahlen, part of the city borough of Mönchengladbach.
Brigadier General Michael A. Ryan was a General Officer in the United States Army.
1 German-Netherlands Corps (1GNC) is a multinational formation consisting of units from both the Royal Netherlands Army and German Army. The corps' headquarters also takes part in NATO Response Force readiness rotations. It is situated in Münster, formerly the headquarters of the German Army's I. Corps out of which 1 German-Netherlands Corps evolved. The corps has national and multinational operational responsibilities.
The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany.
RAF Innsworth was a non flying Royal Air Force station, located on the north side of the city of Gloucester in England. The station closed in March 2008 and for the last 13 years of its life it was the headquarters of Personnel and Training Command. The site was transferred to the British Army and renamed Imjin Barracks becoming the home of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 2010.
Land Command was a military command and formation and part of the structure of the British Army from 1995 to 2008. Its headquarters was at Erskine Barracks, at Fugglestone St Peter, some four kilometres northwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire.
Lieutenant General Sir James Jeffrey Corfield Bucknall, is a retired British Army officer and former Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.
The Multinational Division Central MND (C), was a multi-national division in NATO for Central Europe and had its headquarters at the British JHQ Rheindahlen with its barracks near Mönchengladbach.
The 1st Signal Brigade, formerly known as the 1st Signal Group, is a brigade of the British Army. The group was first formed in 1968 as a result of the 1966 Defence White Paper which expanded support for NATO and the British Army of the Rhine. In 1987, the group was disbanded and merged into the 2nd Signal Brigade. In 1995, the brigade was reformed and has since deployed on operations across the globe in support of NATO and HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.
The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the structure of the British Army in 1989. The most authoritative source for this type of information available is Ministry of Defence, Master Order of Battle, and United Kingdom Land Forces, HQ UKLF, UKLF ORBAT Review Action Plan, HQ UKLF, 1990.
7th Air Defence Group is a formation of the British Army and part of 3rd Division. It is responsible for all the army's ground based air defence assets. All of the organisation's subordinate units are drawn from the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The headquarters are located at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island.
1st Military Intelligence Brigade was a formation of the British Army formed after the Future Army Structure review reform, but in 2014 was absorbed into the new 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.
The GurkhaAllied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion, or simply the GurkhaARRC Support Battalion is a combat support unit of the British Army, and one of only three units permanently assigned to NATO. For administrative purposes, the Gurkha ARRC Support Battalion falls under the oversight of the Royal Logistic Corps, though employs members from many other cap badges.
Responsible Organisation HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Region Europe