Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force

Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force

Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force
USAF Emblem
Active 1 March 1980-1 January 1983
Country United States
Type Joint Task Force
Garrison/HQ MacDill AFB, Florida

The Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) is an inactive United States Department of Defense Joint Task Force. It was inactivated in 1983, and re-organized as the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM).

After the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War, American attention gradually focused on the Persian Gulf. The Yom Kippur War of 1973, the US/Soviet confrontation and the subsequent 1973/1974 oil crisis led to President Nixon issuing an American warning "that American military intervention to protect vital oil supplies" was a possibility, served to increase attention on the area as being vital to US national interests.[1][2]

Contents

The Carter Doctrine

With the new administration elected in 1977, President Carter signed Presidential Review Memorandum (PRM) 10, which undertook a evaluation of US strategy. The President signed Presidential Directive (PD) 18 on August 24th 1977, a part of which called for the establishment of a mobile force capable of responding to worldwide contingencies that would not divert forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or Korea. In 1978, two Army divisions (82nd and 101st) and one Marine division were earmarked for such duties. There were however no substantial funds allocated and it remained a paper exercise.[3][2]

There were several reasons why the move to a Rapid Deployment Force did not occur in the 1970's. Unlike previous Cold War administrations, the US foreign and defence policies under President Carter saw retrenchment not intervention in foreign affairs. Also, the Carter Administration had NATO as it's focus with conventional force policy as a result of the buildup of Warsaw Pact forces. Domestically, there were many objections from the Congress and the Media with regards to the use of United States military forces in the wake of the Vietnam War and in addition within the Defense Department, the Armed Services were just not enthusiastic about the establishment of another limited contingency organisation.[3][2]

A concerted effort to establish the envisioned force was not made until world events in 1979 ended the post-Vietnam malaise in the United States after the Fall of Saigon. The 1979 SALT II agreement with the Soviet Union led to a vigorous debate (and subsequent rejection by Congress of the treaty) which illustrated how far the United States military had fallen into disrepair during the 1970s. The 1979 Iranian Revolution; the 1979 energy crisis; the April 1980 failure of Operation Eagle Claw to rescue United States diplomatic personnel from Tehran, and the 1979 acknowledgment of a Soviet Army combat brigade in Cuba reinforced the appearance of weakness.[2]

However, even before the 4 November 1979 seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran by a group of Islamist students and militants in support of the Iranian Revolution, President Carter announced the establishment of the Rapid Deployment Force, or RDF. The RDF concept was to develop a mobile strike force of Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force elements that could independently operate without the use of established forward bases or the facilities of friendly nations globally. The orientation of the RDF, however, was on the Middle East.[2]

This statement was followed-up in Carters' 1980 State of the Union address when he announced that any attempt by a foreign power to gain control of the Persian Gulf and surrounding area would be regarded as an attack on the vital interests of the United States, and be stopped by all means necessary including the use of military force. This was the first formal commitment of US military power to the region.[2]

Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force

The Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) as the organization was officially designated, was activated on 1 March 1980 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It was established as a part of U.S. Readiness Command (REDCOM). The RDJTF was initially commanded by Lieutenant General P.X. Kelly, USMC. The mission of the RDJTF was that of deterrence - against possible Soviet or proxy invasion, conflict among the states of the area and subversion and insurrection within the states and thus "help maintain regional stability and the Gulf oil-flow westward".[4][2]

The RDJTF was planned from the beginning to be highly mobile, its components to be drawn from central pool of resources allocated by the combined services as required to meet mission objectives and the nature of the specific threat to US interests.

Initially conceived as a force with a global orientation, the RDF soon focused its attention and planning to the Persian Gulf region. This narrowing of emphasis was precipitated by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on 26 December 1979 and the subsequent announcement of the Carter Doctrine which stated that because of its oil fields, the Persian Gulf area was of vital interest to the United States, and that any outside attempt to gain control in the area would be "repelled by use of any means necessary, including military force."

Thus, the 1980 RDJTF AOR included Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia as well as Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, the People's Republic of Yemen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the Yemen Arab Republic.[2]

The Commander of RDJTF was a three star position, first held by General P X Kelley and then by General Robert Kingston, USA (the commander alternated between the Army and Marine Corps). The Deputy Commander was usually Air Force. [2]

It's command staff was drawn from all four armed services. Component commanders of RDJTF consisted of:

In the event a conflict had occurred these personnel would have controlled deployment and operations and been augmented by around 200 personnel from REDCOM and another 250 if they were to go to a remote area. The headquarters at MacDill AFB in Tampa, created some tension between the commands. This command relationship proved unsatisfactory, because in 1980, before the 1986 Goldwater–Nichols Act, there was significant separation within the chain of command of the separate Armed Services and no single channel of communication through which the RDF commander could communicate directly to the United States Secretary of Defense on matters specifically relating to the RDF. [2]

Army elements of the RDJTF

Designated Army elements of the force were:

Conceived as a "High Technology Light Division" and provides the same firepower as a normal infantry division but with far fewer aircraft sorties needed for deployment. The division emphasised "heavy firepower, long range mobility, interdiction capabilities to the enemy's rear elements ("extended battlefield concept") with light forces and long range weapons, and improved C3 and real-time information analysis for effective targeting and weapons utilisation". The division was organised into three brigades of ground troops with a mix of heavy and light battalions, as well as combat support for a total of 14,500 personnel. The fourth brigade was an air attack cavalry brigade with two battalions of attack helicopters, a cavalry squadron with two ground and two air cavalry troops and a transport helicopter battalion. [2]
Equipped with M60 Patton tanks in 1980, the 24th formed the core of the US Army's heavily armored mechanized force. It later was re-equipped with M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, which were employed with great success in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
The 82nd is the Army's only airborne division, along with the headquarters of the 18th Airborne Corps. It consisted of eight infantry battalions in three brigades with supporting assets such as air transportable armour, artillery, air defence, engineers, intelligence and signals with a total of 16,000 personnel. This was one of the key elements in the RDJTF as it could deploy a battalion plus supporting assets in eighteen hours and a brigade in twenty-four. It would have been unlikely that the entire division would have been airlifted in and go into action upon notification of a RDJTF deployment. It is more probable that initially a brigade would have been dropped to secure an airhead and then the rest of the division arrive. Although predominantly infantry, the 82d had substantial organic airlift in it's helicopter assets which were to be upgraded with UH-60 Black hawk helicopters by the end of the 1980's.[2]
The 101st was unique among the Army's divisions due to it's massed assault helicopter capability. It was organised into three brigades of three battalions each, the usual support elements and three helicopter battalions, two transport, one attack for a total of 17,900 personnel. The division used its helicopters to provide tactical mobility. Originally an airborne division, the 101st gradually converted to an airmobile role during the Vietnam War, where it integrated a large number of helicopter assets as the 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division had done. As its experience with helicopter operations increased and tactics refined, it changed its designation to Air Assault. The division was designed to envelop the enemy with speed and firepower and had equal status with the 82nd in RDJTF planning.[2]
Formed initially as the second brigade for the 1st Cavalry Division as it tested the triple capability (TRICAP) concept and as a result of these tests became the only Air Cavalry brigade in the US Army. The brigade was made up of two aviation squadrons with support, communications and headquarters elements. The brigade had scout (OH-58 Kiowa), attack (AH-1 Cobra) and transport (UH-1 Huey, replaced by UH-60 Black hawk and CH-47 Chinook) helicopters and operated with the same tactics as the 101st, emphasising speed of attack and envelopment.[2]

Marine Corps elements of the RDJTF

Designated USMC elements of the force were:

Consisted of 18,000 Marines, it's aviation support group, the 3d Marine Air Wing (159 aircraft), 1st Force Service Support Group and 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade (of 11,000 personnel). The Marines provided the RDJTF the capability of projecting sea power ashore and then conduct land operations. In an amphibious operation there were three types of units which were available to the RDJTF:[2]
A Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) which of battalion size with a squadron of support aircraft being forward deployed to certain areas
A Marine Amphibious Brigade (MAB) which consisted of a regimental landing team (two MAUs), a tank company, artillery battalion, support elements and a Marine Aircraft Group
A Marine Amphibious Force (MAF) which consisted of a Marine division (three MABs), a tank battalion, artillery regiment, a Light Attack Vehicle battalion, an Amphibious Attack Vehicle battalion, engineer battalion, reconnaissance battalion and a Marine Air Wing (600 aircraft).

Navy elements of the RDJTF

Designated United States Navy elements of the force were:

The Navy also operated Military Sealift Command (MSC) which would have been tasked in providing the RDJTF with long term sustainability. The heavier items of equipment would also have to be transported by sea such as the 100,000 tons of equipment for the 24th Mechanised Division (which would take five weeks by air using every transport available). While bulky items and sheer tonnage are the advantages of sealift, it's main disadvantage was speed - as it would take longer to deploy, and be more vulnerable to enemy action.[2]

USAF elements of the RDJTF

Designated United States Air Force elements of the force were from Tactical Air Command (TAC):[2]

Additional secondary units consisted of squadrons deployed from the following USAFE-committed TAC wings:[2]

The Air Force also controlled the Military Airlift Command (MAC), which put the "Rapid" into the RDJTF. The RDJTF relied upon the C-5 Galaxy (70 aircraft), C-141 Starlifter (234 aircraft) and C-130 Hercules (490) of MAC to deploy the fastest reacting ground forces, the forward elements of the 82d Airborne, Special Forces and USMC personnel of the 7th MAB. [2]

The RTJTF could also call upon the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) of 111 long-range cargo and 231 long-range passenger aircraft.[2]

Formation of United States Central Command

On 24 April 1981, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger announced that the RDJTF would evolve into a separate command with specific geographic responsibilities. The planned change was favorably received in the Congress, though not unanimously. Both the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Appropriations expressed their concern" about the absence of an organized effort to plan and provide for possible power projection requirements in other Third World areas which are also critical to U.S. interests." The decision to focus the attention of the RDJTF solely on the Middle East and Central Asia — to the exclusion of other areas, such as central and southern Africa — did little to ease this concern.

On 1 January 1983 the RDJTF became a separate unified command known as the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). The USCENTCOM commander enjoys the same stature as other theater commanders, and he reports directly to the Secretary of Defense. His operational planning responsibility is limited to the Middle East and Central Asia only.

References

  1. ^ Frank Davies "Oil War: American Intervention in the Persian Gulf", Strategy and Tactics No. 52, September / October 1975, pp. 4 - 17, p. 5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Antill, P. (2001), Rapid Deployment Force, United States
  3. ^ a b J Record Revising US Military Strategy, 1984, 1st Edition, Pergammon-Brasseys, McLean, Virginia, p. 36.
  4. ^ John Clementson "Mission Imperative: The Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force", Armed Forces, July 1983, pp. 260 - 265 and August 1983, pp. 304 - 308, p. 260

External links