Organizing British Joint Rapid Reaction Forces (Joint Force Quarterly, Autumn 2000)

摘要

Britain sent the spearhead battalion of its joint rapid reaction force (JRRF) to Sierra Leone in May 2000. The unit took control of the airport at Lungi and began restoring order to the capital of Freetown, a preliminary to evacuating Britons and foreign nationals. Some 36 hours earlier, the unit had been in barracks at Aldershot. Operation Palliser was a classic example of a rapid reaction mission, something often sought yet rarely achieved. It validated the concept of integrating operational planning, preparation, and execution under a permanent joint headquarters (PJHQ). Both the previous Conservative and current Labor governments have viewed the capability to mount rapid reaction operations as in the national interest, in keeping with global responsibilities as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, to play a part in resolving selected crises. Britain had an inefficient response system in 1994 and a constant though apparently contradictory political intention to improve imilitary efficiency while achieving cost savings.