Task force

A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many non-military organizations now create "task forces" or task groups for temporary activities that might have once been performed by ad hoc (designated purpose) committees. In non-military contexts, working groups are sometimes called task forces.

Military

Naval

Army

In the army, a task force is a battalion-sized (usually, although there are variations in size) ad hoc unit formed by attaching smaller elements of other units. A company-sized unit with an armored or mechanized infantry unit attached is called a "company team." A similar unit at the brigade level is called a "brigade combat team" (BCT), and there is also a similar "regimental combat team" (RCT).

In the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth countries, such units are traditionally known as battlegroups.

The 2nd Australian Task Force (2 ATF) was a brigade-sized formation that commanded Australian and New Zealand Army units deployed to South Vietnam between 1966 and 1972. More recently, Australian task forces have been designated to cover temporary support elements such the battalion-sized force which operated in Urozgan Province, Afghanistan from 2006 to 2013. and the Northern Territory Emergency Response Task Force.