Rapid reaction force
military or police unit designed to respond in very short time frames

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 unit capable of responding to emergencies in a very short time frame.
Definition
A quick reaction force (QRF) is an armed military unit capable of rapidly responding to developing situations. They are equipped to respond to any type of emergency within a short time frame, sometimes only a few minutes, based on unit standard operating procedures (SOPs). Some can deploy outside their borders and without the need for a large organized support force. A quick reaction force belongs directly to the commander of the unit it is created from and is typically held in the reserve. QRF units can be assigned to an area of operations (AO) or can be associated with a specific operation, for example Neptune Spear, when reserve units were used to support the main force following the crash of a helicopter.
List
Active
Albania: Rapid Reaction Brigade
Argentina: Argentine Rapid Deployment Force
Australia: 7th Brigade (Australia)
Canada
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM)
Joint Task Force 2
Canadian Joint Incident Response Unit
Canadian Special Operations Regiment
427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron.
Global Response Task Force (GRTF)
Canadian Army High Readiness Forces
3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment
3e Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment
Immediate Response Units
Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)
China
People's Liberation Army Air Force Airborne Corps
People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps
Colombia: Rapid Deployment Force
Egypt: Egyptian Rapid Deployment Forces
Finland: Finnish Rapid Deployment Force
/ Germany/Netherlands: Rapid Forces Division-DSK
India: Rapid Action Force
Indonesia: Indonesian Air Force Quick Reaction Forces Command
/ Italy/NATO: NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy
Japan
Central Readiness Regiment
Malaysia
10th Parachute Brigade
Rapid Deployment Force
Norway: Norwegian Telemark Battalion
Philippines
710th Special Operations Wing
1st Brigade Combat Team
Portugal: Rapid Reaction Brigade
/ Russia/Soviet Union
Russian Airborne Forces
Separate Operational Purpose Division
Singapore: Army Deployment Force
South Korea
707th Special Mission Group
2nd Quick Response Division
ROKMC Quick Maneuver Force
Sri Lanka: Air Mobile Brigade
Thailand
31st Infantry Regiment
3rd Infantry Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division
1st Infantry Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division
1st Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division
2nd Infantry Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division
United Kingdom
16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team
United Kingdom Commando Force
United Kingdom Special Forces
Special Air Service (SAS)
Special Boat Service (SBS)
United States
Joint Special Operations Command
24th Special Tactics Squadron
Delta Force
Intelligence Support Activity (ISA)
Regimental Reconnaissance Company
SEAL Team Six
United States Air Force
Immediate Response Force
Special Tactics Squadrons
353rd Special Operations Wing
621st Contingency Response Wing
Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers
United States Army
Immediate Response Force
XVIII Airborne Corps (America's Contingency Corps)
82nd Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Army Special Operations Command (Airborne)
Special Forces
75th Ranger Regiment
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR)
4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne)
8th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne)
95th Civil Affairs Brigade
528th Sustainment Brigade
United States Coast Guard
Deployable Specialized Forces
United States Marine Corps
Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO)
Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs)
Maritime Special Purpose Force
Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST)
Reconnaissance Battalions
Force Reconnaissance
Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC)
Marine Raider Regiment
United States Navy
Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs)
Navy Expeditionary Combat Command
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Units
Underwater Construction Teams (UCT)
Naval Special Warfare Command
SEAL Teams
Special Boat Teams
Multinational
European Union
The European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR) serves as a unified intervention force of European militarized police.
EU Battlegroup
NATO
The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is a capable of rapidly deploying a NATO headquarters for operations and crisis response.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) is distinct from ARRC as it comprises land, sea, air, and special forces units.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Rapid reaction force” is military or police unit designed to respond in very short time frames. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Rapid, reaction and force, not as a finished interpretation.
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