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Civic Register
| 1.28.22

NATO Increases Readiness of Multinational Response Force - What Is It?

Do you support raising the readiness of the NATO Response Force?

What’s the story?

  • The North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance recently increased the readiness level of the 40,000-strong NATO Response Force (NRF) in response to Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders. It’s unclear whether Russia will follow through with an invasion, but the heightened readiness of the NRF would enable their rapid deployment to Eastern Europe if the ongoing crisis escalates.
  • The Pentagon announced that 8,500 American troops have been put on heightened alert to deploy to Europe, most of whom would be part of the NRF if activated. Personnel from the 82nd Airborne Division (including the brigade that serves as the U.S. rapid reaction force capable of deploying within 18 hours), the 18th Airborne Corps, and the 101st Airborne Division. Several other units are part of the ready force, which includes combat formations along with accompanying aviation, logistics, and medical support. 
  • NATO and the Biden administration have indicated that if the NRF is activated those troops would not be deployed to Ukraine, which is a NATO partner but isn’t an official member of the alliance. Rather, the NRF would likely be sent to NATO member countries near Russia and Ukraine ― such as the Baltic states, Poland, and Romania among other countries ― to deter aggression by Russia and reassure allies in the region.

What is the NATO Response Force?

  • Established in 2003, the NRF is a high readiness military force with land, air, sea, and special forces units capable of deploying quickly for operations anywhere in the world if needed for the collective defense of alliance members or other contingencies. 
  • The NRF can be deployed as the lead echelon of a much larger military deployment at the outset of a conflict or it can be used to respond to various crises ranging from disaster relief to peacekeeping.
  • The spearhead of the NRF is a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), a unit which serves as the spearhead of the NRF and is designed to remain permanently able to begin its deployment within two to three days. It includes a multinational land brigade of about 5,000 troops in addition to air, maritime, and special forces components that bring it to a force strength of about 20,000 personnel.  
  • The VJTF was established in 2014 following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. It will be led by France in 2022 and the core of the force is a 3,500 Franco-German mechanized infantry brigade. Other NATO countries also contribute forces to the VJTF, with Poland, Portugal, and Spain providing forces this year. Germany will lead the VJTF in 2023.
  • Allied countries commit forces in 12 month rotations and take turns leading the NRF, which has a headquarters which alternates annually between Naples, Italy and Bronssum, the Netherlands. NATO partner countries that aren’t formal members can also make contributions to the NRF, as Finland, Georgia, Sweden, and Ukraine have done.


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— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger via Flickr / Creative Commons)