Joint Rapid Deployment Force
| Joint Rapid Deployment Force | |
|---|---|
 An Air Force Raptor loaded with Army soldiers lands on Naval carrier F.N.S Cleomenes (CVN-47) during readiness training | |
| Active | 2008 - present |
| Country |  Belfrasian Federation |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Gen. Harpax Typhoeus |
The Joint Rapid Deployment Force (JRDF) is a formation of the Belfrasian Armed Forces formed from a pool of specialised units from all three armed services tasked with rapid deployment worldwide at short notice. The force was established with the requirement of being able to conduct operations from small-scale peace-keeping operations to medium-scale warfighting, such as securing an area of operations ahead of a main expeditionary group.
The JRDF directly replaced the Expeditionary High Command, which was tasked with organising units from the three armed services without directly organising them together. The formation worked until required during the Nestos insurrection when calling the units up resulted in a one-week lead time before deployment as opposed to the 48-hour requirement. EHC was promptly disbanded in 1982 and, until the creation of the JRDF in 2008, the Armed Forces was without a rapid reaction force, relying solely on the highly mobile nature of the Marines to conduct rapid deployments.
In the event of the JRDF being activated for immediate deployment, the force commander is empowered with overall command of the expedition and takes direct operational control of assigned units for the duration of deployment. The Force Commander is accompanied by the 'Joint Force Headquarters' (JFHQ) which is comprised of command and intelligence personnel from all three service branches. Until activation, assigned units remain under the command structure of their specific service commanders but are still required to stand-by at a 48-hour notice for deployment. Rotations of units every six months is mandatory to ensure that personnel under JRDF assignment do not begin to fatigue under the stress of a two-day window to return to their units and prepare for deployment to potential combat zones. Extra pay for personnel exists while on stand-by along with activation bonuses and good maintenance bonuses for maintaing oneself and ones equipment to high standards while on readiness stand-by.
Organisational structure
The Joint Rapid Deployment Force is typically deployed under two phases with capability for a third and forth phase is needed. The first phase are kept in a high state of readiness for movement within 48-hours and is typically the only phase of deployment necessary.
- First Phase Deployment
A Federation Navy task force comprised of an aircraft carrier, one destroyer squadron, an amphibious warfare group, two attack submarines, and necessary under-way replenishment (UNREP) vessels are deployed with a marine battalion to establish sea and air dominance over the area of operations as needed. The marine battalion, upon conducting landing operations, will be able to provide armoured support to army airborne battalions listed below with amphibious vehicles and vehicles landed with the assistance of the navy amphibious warfare group.
The attached special forces unit - Often a squadron from the Myrmidon Special Operations Group - are transported to the area of operations by a dedicated special operations air force unit to prepare the area for the arrival of the primary deployment elements, either by combat operations, tasked seizure of enemy locations or by elimination of defensive structures.
Three Federation Air Force squadrons, one Hurricane and two Centaur are deployed with two Army airborne battalions to mobilise to the area of operations by air. An Aviation battalion from the Army will also deploy at this point to provide air assault services to both airborne battalions once deployed.
- Second Phase Deployment
Should the First Phase require reinforcements, the Second Phase begins preparation for deployment at the same time and mobilise to the nearest friendly area to the area of operations. The second phase would include:
- A Federation Navy task force comprised of warships as required for the area of operations
- A mine countermeasures group
- Secondary amphibious task forces
- An aviation task force from the Air Force which will be required to begin immediate operations within twelve hours once arrival to area within combat range of area of operations.
- Two regiments of light or mechanised infantry as required
- One armoured regiment to be pre-positioned to the closest entry to the area of operations as soon as possible
- One Army special forces unit to provide area denial for opposition forces to attack pre-positioned armoured units
- Third Phase Deployment
A third phase of deployment is reserved for when combat operations spiral into 'major warfare' scenarios, and will entail the deployment of units such as:
- Division-size units from the Army, focusing on armoured and mechanised units
- Further deployments of task forces from the Federation Navy
- Establishment and deployment of further Air Force task forces
Operational structure
Permanent structure
Overall command for the JRDF is the responsibility of Joint Expeditionary Command (JEC), a holdover name from the days of the Expeditionary High Command. The JEC is the primary command structure responsible for organising and executing military operations overseas and subsequently has full jurisdictional authority over the JRDF, with the JRDF Force Commander and their Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ) being a department of the JEC.
The Joint Force Headquarters, which organises the JRDF exclusively, has a varied organisation that is changed depending on the current composition of the JRDF. The permanent parts of the JFHQ is it's primary headquarters section that maintains day-to-day operations of the JFHQ itself and it's specialised intelligence teams that coordinate with subordinate units and with intelligence agencies both foreign and domestic to ensure up-to-date information regarding potential hot spots around the globe for immediate access to necessary information should a need arise.
Organic parts of the JFHQ are formed depending on subordinate units. Typically naval intelligence will be attached along with 'on-loan' command members from army and air force units that have subordinate units of their own on loan to the JRDF. One example would be the attachment of four officers of the 1st Infantry's intelligence team when two battalions from their division was attached for a six-month rotation.
The current commander of the JRDF is General Harpax Typhoeus, who commands as Force Commander for the JRDF from within the JFHQ's specialised infrastructure that is ultimately tasked with providing the Force Commander with the best information available so that the current Force Commander can make the best decision possible in whatever situation arises.
Forces
Current composition
The current composition of the Joint Rapid Deployment Force was established in April 2018 and are due to stand down in November 2018. Current components include the Federation Navy's F.N.S Cleomenes aircraft carrier, Destroyer Squadron IV, Amphibious Warfare Group III, attack submarines Challenger and Conqueror along with the Cleomenes Support Group, which is comprised of underway replenishment vessels tasked with keeping the naval task force stocked with fuel, food, and munitions when at sea. The Air Force contribute with Numbers 502, 344, and 349 squadrons with no. 502 being a Hurricane attack squadron and 344 and 349 being Pelican strategic airlifter squadrons. The Army contribute with three battalions: The 2nd battalion, 102nd Infantry and 3rd Battalion, 92nd Infantry are part of airborne divisions and the 3rd Battalion, 77th Aviation is a specialised Peregrine utility helicopter unit that will pair with the airborne battalions for air assault duties if deployed. Aboard Amphibious Warfare Group III is the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine unit which is reinforced with amphibious-capable Army units for extended combat operations as needed. Finally, the Myrmidon Special Operations Group have contributed B Squadron, 1 Myrmidon that are tasked with deploying ahead of the JRDF if needed with the help of navy and air force assets as needed.
| Navy Elements | Air Elements | Land Elements | Foreign Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| F.N.S Cleomenes (CVN-47) (Flagship) | Carrier Air Wing 3 (Asgn. Cleomenes) | B Squadron, 1 MYR | — |
| F.N.S Atreus (LHD-12) | Atreus Air Complement (Varies) | 2nd Batt, 102nd Inf (AIRBORNE) | — |
| F.N.S Leropinia (LPD-23) | Leropinia Air Complement (Varies) | 3rd Batt, 92nd Inf (AIRBORNE) | — |
| F.N.S Hester (DDG-69) (DesRon IV) | No. 502 Air Squadron (Hurricane) | 1st Batt, 2nd Mar (AMPHIB) | — |
| F.N.S Taylor (DDG-78) (DesRon IV) | No. 344 Air Squadron (Pelican) | — | — |
| F.N.S Luchetti (DDG-82) (DesRon IV) | No. 349 Air Squadron (Pelican) | — | — |
| F.N.S Angiolini (DDG-95) (DesRon IV) | 3rd Batt, 77th Avn (Peregrine) | — | — |
| F.N.S Challenger (SSN-205) | — | — | — |
| F.N.S Conqueror (SSN-200) | — | — | — |
| Cleomenes Support Group | — | — | — |