ACE reaction forces
NATO's Allied Commander Europe (ACE) has immediate reaction forces—the ACE Mobile Force (AMF) —and rapid reaction forces, of which the ACE Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is the land component.
The AMF was formed in 1960; it provides a quick conventional response with land and air forces to demonstrate NATO's will to reinforce and defend the territory of any member nation. It can be deployed by Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at short notice at the request of a nation (s) and upon the approval of NATO's Defence Planning Committee. NATO could subsequently deploy the ARRC. The AMF is about 5, 000 strong, comprising infantry, artillery, and supporting units. In 1991 it undertook its first operational deployment to Turkey during the Gulf war. Thirteen nations (all NATO nations except France, Portugal, and Iceland) currently contribute to the AMF which is now being adapted to undertake peace support operations (PSO). Its headquarters is at Heidelberg in Germany.
The ARRC comprises staff and assigned military formations from fourteen nations and is also ready to undertake combined, joint operations ranging from PSO to high-intensity warfare. It was established following NATO's Rome summit meeting in 1991. It supports ACE's crisis management through deterrence, reinforcement, and operations. On 20 December 1995, following the Dayton Peace Accord, the ARRC deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina to assume command of the NATO-led Peace Implementation Force (IFOR), NATO's first full operation. In 1999 it deployed to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and entered Kosovo following Serb withdrawal. It has a permanent headquarters in Rheindahlen, Germany.
Bibliography
- ARRC Home Page:
http://www.arrcmedia.com - Cordesman, A. H., NATO's Central Region Forces (London, 1988).
- Gander, T., Encyclopaedia of the Modern British Army (Cambridge, 1982).
- NATO Handbook (Brussels, 1992).
- Palin, R. H, Multinational Military Forces: Problems and Prospects (London, 1995)
— Jonathan B. A. Bailey
