Rapid Equipping Force

Last updated
US Army Rapid Equipping Force
Active2002-2021
Country United States of America
Branch U.S. Army
Part of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)
Headquarters Fort Belvoir
Website https:// www.ref.army.mil
Commanders
DirectorCOL Joe D. Bookard

The Rapid Equipping Force (REF) was a United States Army organization headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The organization was charged with quickly providing Army units deployed globally with innovative government off-the-shelf and commercially available solutions that address urgent requirements within 180 days or less. The REF was able to do this through unique authorities and by maintaining a presence near the point of need. REF personnel were positioned in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait and mobile laboratories are available for quick solutions. Additionally, the REF empowered the Army at a grassroots level, enabling individual soldiers to communicate needs directly through simple request forms.

Contents

Along with leveraging existing technology to meet urgent needs of Army forces deployed globally, the REF also informed longer-term materiel development for the future force. In October 2020, the Army announced it would dissolve the Asymmetric Warfare Group and the Rapid Equipping Force, by year-end FY2021 (September 30, 2021).

Mission

The REF provides innovative materiel solutions to meet the urgent requirements of U.S. Army forces employed globally, informs materiel development for the future force, and on order expands to meet operational demands.

Functions

The REF lines of support fall into four distinct categories: assess, equip, insert, and inform. Its primary function is to equip units with technologies that fill identified capability gaps. The REF provides training on these technologies downrange and at home-stations. It can insert selected future force solutions for operational evaluation in addition to providing new capabilities not readily available in the existing Army inventory. Finally, the REF constantly identifies and assesses emerging technologies and Army practices concerning operational needs affecting force readiness.

Organization overview

The REF is structured to integrate three distinct functions to provide the Army with a responsive, rapid acquisition organization. First, the REF Director has the unique authority to validate requirements. Second, the REF has acquisition authority and provided by the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology chartered Project Manager housed within REF's chain of command. Finally, the REF receives funding from a variety of sources, allowing it the flexibility to support Soldiers deployed around the world.

These three pillars of authority allow REF to quickly insert solutions into theater in weeks rather than years. REF aims to deliver items into Soldiers’ hands within 90 days, and has even provided a solution in 72 hours after learning of an urgent need. [1]

The REF can receive requests for support from any soldier, from a private to the Chief of Staff of the Army. These requests are submitted via a simple document called a "10-Liner" that prompts soldiers to describe the capability gaps they are facing downrange or as they prepare to deploy. From that information, the REF team begins the analysis and procurement process in order to best equip the requesting unit.

It is important to note that the REF equips specific units, not the entirety of the Army. If a solution is applicable to a larger portion of the Army, REF works with partner organizations to transition technologies to project managers who can then field the equipment to a larger portion of the Army.

History

The REF was created in 2002 after U.S. soldiers realized the need for non-standard equipment to meet the demands of new terrain, warfare tactics and their assigned missions. Since then, the REF has met challenges as diverse as enhancing soldier mobility, providing improved surveillance in austere locations, equipping operational energy sources and enhancing communications.

The 2004 REF Charter and Implementation Guidance and Coordination memo, signed by Lieutenant General Richard A. Cody, formalized REF's "equip," "insert," "assess" functions. The excerpt below outlines how each line of support would shape REF's mission.

"The REF will identify and evaluate emerging technologies, concepts, and surrogates to estimate/approximate threshold capabilities, while simultaneously providing operationally relevant capabilities to our combat forces within a time frame relevant to current operations... It is my intent to insert critical future technologies and capabilities into the current force while continuously shaping the future force and accelerating its evolution. Therefore, I direct expansion of the mission of the REF to encompass two additional critical functions:

  1. First, the REF will analyze relevant technologies and capabilities that exist in the Army's laboratory, developmental systems, other Services and Federal Agencies, and international sources, and when appropriate, bring these capabilities into an operational environment to examine and evaluate the concepts and their effectiveness. If suitable, the REF will assess the potential to accelerate fielding and the contribution such fielding would make to increased combat effectiveness.
  2. Second, REF initiatives will serve as the testbed to construct a model for lasting change and improvement of Army business practices and to better streamline Army Acquisition processes. Establish a continuous feedback process to provide lessons learned and best practices identified through the rapid equipping process to the relevant staff and US Army Major Command (MACOMs). The Army Acquisition Executive (AAE), with the support of the REF, will use REF initiatives to develop a process to transfer REF initiatives to a fast-tracked fielding program of selected systems. The Assistant Secretary of the Army, Financial Management and Comptroller, in coordination with the Chief of Legislative Liaison and the REF, will develop a concept and Congressional strategy to support significant Army reprogramming actions and request modifications to laws as necessary to facilitate rapid acquisition when acceleration of future technologies contribute significant combat power to the force in the near term." [2]

In January 2014, the REF was deemed critical by the Army and transitioned to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.

Discontinuation

On October 2, 2020, the Department of the Army announced the discontinuation of the REF as the U.S. Army transitions from counter-insurgency operations to a focus on multi-domain operations and large scale combat operations. TRADOC directed the orderly closure of REF facilities, transfer of equipment and property, and transition of military and civilian personnel (to support other army efforts). The REF will complete the transition no later than September 30, 2021. [3]

Projects

The REF mitigates capability gaps across the spectrum of warfighter function areas and has supported many projects as listed below.

The REF currently supports priority equipping efforts over a wide range of challenges including solutions for subterranean operations, electronic warfare, unmanned and counter-unmanned aerial systems, intelligence, and expeditionary force protection.

Related Research Articles

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IAI RQ-5 Hunter</span> Type of aircraft

The IAI RQ-5 Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was originally intended to serve as the United States Army's Short Range UAV system for division and corps commanders. It took off and landed on runways. It used a gimbaled EO/IR sensor to relay its video in real time via a second airborne Hunter over a C-band line-of-sight data link. The RQ-5 is based on the Hunter UAV that was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Special Operations Command</span> Army component of the U.S. Special Operations Command

The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( YOO-sə-sok)) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, it is the largest component of the United States Special Operations Command. It is an Army Service Component Command. Its mission is to organize, train, educate, man, equip, fund, administer, mobilize, deploy and sustain Army special operations forces to successfully conduct worldwide special operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance</span> Military doctrinal concept

ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center</span> Military unit

The Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) C5ISR Center, formerly the Communications-Electronics RD&E Center (CERDEC), is the United States Army information technologies and integrated systems center. CCDC C5ISR Center is headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, with activities at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unmanned ground vehicle</span> Type of vehicle

An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is a vehicle that operates while in contact with the ground and without an onboard human presence. UGVs can be used for many applications where it may be inconvenient, dangerous, or impossible to have a human operator present. Generally, the vehicle will have a set of sensors to observe the environment, and will either autonomously make decisions about its behavior or pass the information to a human operator at a different location who will control the vehicle through teleoperation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reorganization plan of United States Army</span> Former United States Army modernization and reorganization plan

The reorganization plan of the United States Army was implemented from 2006 to 2016 under the direction of the Brigade Modernization Command. This effort formally began in 2006 when General Peter Schoomaker was given the support to move the Army from its Cold War divisional orientation to a full-spectrum capability with fully manned, equipped and trained brigades; this effort was completed by the end of 2016. It has been the most comprehensive reorganization since World War II and included modular combat brigades, support brigades, and command headquarters, as well as rebalancing the active and reserve components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Corps Systems Command</span> Acquisition command of the United States Marine Corps

The Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) is the acquisition command of the United States Marine Corps, made up of Marines, sailors, civilians and contractors. As the only systems command in the Marine Corps, MCSC serves as Head of Contracting Authority and exercises technical authority for all Marine Corps ground weapon and information technology programs. MCSC is headquartered at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asymmetric Warfare Group</span> Military unit

The Asymmetric Warfare Group was a United States Army unit created during the War on Terrorism to mitigate various threats with regard to asymmetric warfare. The unit was headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland and had a training facility at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. The unit provided the linkage between Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and the operational Army, and reported directly to the commanding general of TRADOC.

A program executive officer, or PEO, is one of a few key individuals in the United States military acquisition process. As can be seen from the examples below, a program executive officer may be responsible for a specific program, or for an entire portfolio of similar programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command</span> U.S. Armys provider of nearly all basic and applied R&D services

The Combat Capabilities Development Command, is a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command. RDECOM was tasked with "creating, integrating, and delivering technology-enabled solutions" to the U.S. Army. It is headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

The United States Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) is the United States Army's medical materiel developer, with responsibility for medical research, development, and acquisition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operational Test and Evaluation Force</span> U.S. Navy organization for operational testing and evaluation

The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) is an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, cryptologic, and space systems in support Navy and Department of Defense acquisition programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PM WIN-T</span> Military unit

PM WIN-T is a component of Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical in the United States Army. PM WIN-T has been absorbed into PM Tactical Networks as Product Manager for Mission Networks.

Project Scorpion is a multinational military modernization program which uses military-run experimentation for acquisition of new armaments. Project Scorpion also tests new military behaviors such as effects-based operations, network-centric warfare, and irregular warfare and civilian-military concepts.

Joint Modernization Command Military unit

The U.S. Army Joint Modernization Command, or JMC, based in Fort Bliss, Texas, gains insights from "Fight Tonight" units about future ways of fighting, future technology, and force structure during realistic live, constructive, and/or simulated training exercises. Joint Modernization Command is subordinate to the Army Futures & Concepts Center in Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; both report to the U.S. Army's newest Four-Star Command, the Army Futures Command (AFC) based in Austin, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ground based operational surveillance system</span>

The Ground-Based Operational Surveillance System, (G-BOSS) created by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, is a trailer-mounted tower with mounted surveillance systems. It was integrated with the command operations center (COC) used primarily by the United States Marine Corps during the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) and the War in Iraq. The G-BOSS is used primarily for force protection, checkpoint security, route reconnaissance, patrol over watch, improvised explosive devices emplacement detection, intelligence gathering, and personnel/vehicle identification.

The transformation of the United States Army is part of a strategy using Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). In 2019, the planning was for Large Scale ground Combat Operations at echelons above the brigade combat team. Multi-Domain Task Forces operate in a combatant commander's theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Futures Command</span> U.S. Army Command that runs modernization projects

The United States Army Futures Command (AFC) is a United States Army command that runs modernization projects. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army Acquisition Corps</span> Officer / NCO corps of the U.S. Army Acquisition Workforce

The United States Army Acquisition Corps (AAC) is the officer / NCO corps of the United States Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW), a branch which includes civilians, officers, and NCOs. The Acquisition Corps is composed of army officers who serve in acquisition, a specialized form of product development, fielding, and support and Noncommissioned Officers who specialize in Contracting, Level I Program Management and Purchasing. These officers begin their careers in the other branches of the army for eight years, after which they may elect the Acquisition branch as their career as assistant program managers (APMs), program managers (PMs), and program executive officers (PEOs). The Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) are reclassified in the Army Acquisition NCO Corps after serving 7-10 years in their respective enlisted career management fields, and serve primarily in the Army Acquisition Career Management Field - 51 and (MOS) 51C. 4% percentage of the Army Acquisition Officers serve among the 40,000 members of the army acquisition workforce, 6% in MOS 51C - Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Contracting Noncommissioned Officer, and the remainder 90% percentage consist largely of Department of the Army civilians.

References

  1. ↑ Richard A. Cody, "Minutes and Hours… Not Days and Weeks" ed. D. Bennett Dickson, 2008
  2. ↑ Department of the Army Memorandum, Signed by LTG Richard A. Cody "The Rapid Equipping Force (REF) Charter and Implementation Guidance Coordination," January 12, 2004.
  3. ↑ Tucker, Patrick (October 2, 2020). "US Army To Dissolve Rapid Equipping Force, Asymmetric Warfare Group". Defense One. Government Media Executive Group LLC. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.