Some readers may be aware Defence Ministers recently agreed at their meeting in Brussels on 12 June 2009 to revise the NATO Response Force (NRF) concept. We thought it would be valuable to explain the changes, the reasons why and try to answer any questions you may have. After, reading through the explanation below, if you want further information we will do our best to help answer any questions.
Firstly, what has not changed…
- Italian landing craft brings troops and vehicles ashore from their ship the St. Giorgio.
The basic premise behind the NRF remains unchanged. It is our aim to provide a high readiness and technologically advanced force made up of land, air, sea and special force components that the Alliance can deploy quickly on operations wherever needed.
The NRF should still be capable of performing tasks worldwide across the whole spectrum of operations. These tasks include providing the immediate mechanism by which the Alliance can conduct collective defence of Alliance members in the event of an Article 5 operation; act as the initial force deployment as a precursor to deployment of a much larger force, whether that be for Article 5, or for any other operation; right through to allowing the Alliance to react with military forces to assist civilian agencies manage the consequences of natural disasters.
In addition to the NRF providing the Alliance with a crisis management instrument, the NRF will continue to serve as a tool for transformation of military capabilities. To date this has been a success story. more…
