An Enduring Quick-Reaction Capability

The Rapid Equipping Force (REF), which
swiftly provides deployed units with urgent technologies, has equipped more
than 20 tactical aerostats to provide continued intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at the small-unit level.
An Enduring Quick-Reaction Capability
U
nder DoD acquisition policies, the Army strives dress the need for urgent technologies and has been quickly
to predict and prepare for future operational equipping deployed units since 2002. REF harnesses emergneeds through a very deliberate process. In-depth ing government off-the-shelf and commercial off-the-shelf
requirement analysis, technology development solutions and, when necessary, conducts limited developand testing precede most military procurement actions and ment or integration. In January, the Office of the Under Secfielding decisions. These steps are reretary of the Army issued a memo apquired to address the full doctrine, organiproving REF’s long-term implementation
By Col. Steven A. Sliwa
zation, training, materiel, leadership and
plan, stating, “The capabilities afforded
education, personnel, and facilities specthe Army by REF must be rendered entrum and equip the most technologically advanced army in during.” This action addresses Carter’s concern and ensures
the world. The very nature of conflict, however, makes it un- soldiers will have an organization to turn to when they need
predictable. Unfamiliar environmental challenges and ever- materiel assistance to bridge immediate tactical challenges.
changing enemy tactics demand adaptive thinking and, ofConflicts Require Agility
tentimes, quick-reaction, nonstandard equipment. Former
Throughout military history, nearly every conflict has
Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter recently said,
“The same system that excels at anticipating future needs proven the need for front-line agility. For example, 70 years
has proved less capable of quickly providing technology and ago this summer, U.S. forces were surprised by the maneuver challenge posed by hedgerows in Normandy, France.
equipment to troops on the battlefield.”
The Rapid Equipping Force (REF) was established to ad- As tanks crossed over the hedgerows, the closely spaced
September 2014 ■ ARMY 61
U.S. Army
The Rapid
Equipping Force
U.S. Army
shrubs exposed the undersides of the vehicles, making
them vulnerable to attack. One soldier welded scrap metal
to the front of a tank to create hedge-cutting “teeth.” Following a successful demonstration of the solution, the
Army added what soldiers called the “Rhino” device to as
many tanks as possible. After the breakout, the Rhinos
were no longer required and were discarded. If we learn
anything from military history, we should learn this:
Col. Steven A. Sliwa is director of the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping
Force. Previously, he served on the Joint Staff as the J-5 assistant
deputy director for joint strategic planning. A graduate of the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, New York, Sliwa holds a master’s degree in military arts and sciences in military space applications from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
62
ARMY ■ September 2014
U.S. Army
Right: An M5 Stuart
light tank from the
Normandy campaign
rolls down a Belgian
street in 1944. A tank
was vulnerable crossing the hedgerows in
France, so the Army
welded teeth-like
scrap metal to the
front that chewed
through shrubs.
Below: The Army established the REF after the successful
rapid insertion of the
PackBot to clear caves
in Afghanistan in 2002.
Nearly every modern conflict has illustrated the need for quick-reaction
equipping, much of it nonstandard.
Both Operation Enduring Freedom
and Operation Iraqi Freedom presented unique challenges. In 2002, soldiers cleared caves in Afghanistan with
grappling hooks to uncover potential
trip wires and improvised explosive
devices. Frustrated by this practice,
then-Vice Chief of Staff of the Army
Gen. John M. (Jack) Keane challenged
Col. Bruce D. Jette to obtain and use
technology to make cave-clearing safer
in less than 90 days. Jette teamed up
with the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency and several industry
partners. Less than a month later, he
procured the PackBot, the first manpackable robot deployed in Afghanistan. This equipping success led to the
establishment of the REF in late 2002.
While U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Army Materiel Command
and the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) work together to anticipate future
force requirements and field solutions to the entire Army,
REF focuses on meeting immediate tactical requirements
for a specific deployed unit at a precise location. REF integrates three core competencies—requirement validation,
materiel development and acquisition—into a single organization designed to provide interim materiel solutions
and foster adaptability. Three primary functions—equip,
insert and assess—drive the organization’s efforts.
Equip. REF equips troops with solutions in order to reduce
capability shortfalls, increase soldier safety and reduce overall operational risk. By working closely with soldiers during
the solution-development process, REF cultivates soldier in-
U.S. Army
Building on DoD and Marine Corps efforts,
REF delivered a mobile acoustic shooter
detective system to Iraq in 2006. Attached
to the left rear of a vehicle, it uses seven
small microphones to detect incoming fire
as well as its direction and elevation.
September 2014 ■ ARMY 63
U.S. Army National Guard/Spc. Mark VanGerpen
novation and channels it into successful technology solutions. Senior Army
leadership can also task REF to find solutions for some of its biggest operational challenges.
As the U.S. began transitioning operations in Afghanistan, the remaining
units that were deployed to austere locations asked for easily deployable and
portable intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance systems as well as force
protection systems. REF responded by
equipping the units with small tactical
aerostats to employ at remote combat
outposts. Recently, the number of requirements for this capability has increased, indicating its value at this
point in the war.
In Iraq between 2005 and 2007, there
Members of the REF team stand outside their Expeditionary Lab at Forwas a marked increase in sniper atward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, last May. Inside the contacks on the battlefield. At the direction
tainerized workspace the team quickly produces prototype solutions.
of Army and DoD leadership, REF
partnered with organizations such as
Small Solutions, Large Impact
the Asymmetric Warfare Group, the Joint Improvised ExploExpeditionary Labs, or Ex Labs, enhance REF’s equipping
sive Device Defeat Organization, TRADOC and the Marine
Corps in a coordinated effort known as Sniper Defeat to capabilities in remote locations. These containerized workequip units with improved counter-sniper capabilities. The shops deploy with engineers, NCOs and tools to design tacdiverse group of partners provided units with a variety of tical solutions at the point of need. Soldiers work directly
technology and nonmateriel solutions. They ranged from with the scientists to devise solutions, typically using iterathe Boomerang, which provides gunshot detection informa- tive designs produced by a 3-D printer. In a matter of days
tion, to counter-sniper pocket guides and training videos. or weeks, the Ex Lab teams equip units with materiel soluFollowing these equipping successes, the number of sniper tions, such as flashlight mounts for improvised explosive
device detectors, tire valve stem guards and route chalkers
attacks in Iraq dramatically decreased.
to identify cleared paths. These small
solutions make a large impact on unit
capabilities.
Insert. REF inserts future force technologies to validate concepts in an operational environment and speed capabilities to the warfighter. For example,
in the early years of the Iraq war, units
needed additional force protection for
small combat outposts. REF quickly
inserted the Rapid Deployment Integrated Surveillance System, which
integrates cameras, ground sensors,
software and an operator station to
provide a closed-circuit surveillance
system over a local area. This system
not only met a key capability shortfall
but also was later incorporated with
the more comprehensive Base Expeditionary Targeting and Surveillance Systems-Combined protection system. By
integrating readily available, nonstandard equipment, REF bridged the gap
until the appropriate Army organization completed the long-term project.
Assess. REF assesses the full range of
desired capabilities and Army business practices to refine,
modify and streamline actions to support the force with
transformational change recommendations. For example, in
response to direct observations and senior Army leadership
guidance, REF established the Energy to the Edge initiative.
The effort deploys operational energy (OE) advisors to assess energy challenges and recommends solutions for life at
remote outposts or on the tactical edge.
Units deploying to combat outposts and village stability
platforms (special operations personnel living and working
with locals to resist insurgents and improve security) are responsible for providing their own power with stand-alone
generators. The “spot-power” practices resulted in excessive
fuel consumption and required resource-intensive resupply
operations over difficult and hazardous routes. Units trained
by REF’s OE advisors doubled site energy efficiency with
standard Army equipment alone. By also introducing emerging hybrid energy solutions, REF has provided 100 percent
power surety for mission-critical systems at some locations.
A key element to the program’s overall success is the collaboration and synchronization with the Army’s OE community. These assessment efforts and partnerships illustrate how REF serves as an informing organization for the
broader community on emerging issues.
Poised for Global Support
Though the war in Afghanistan is winding down, the
pace of requirements remains robust. In 2013, the REF addressed 312 urgent requirements and shipped 29,248 pieces
of equipment. In April alone, REF received 62 requirements, including 47 from Afghanistan. This is the largest
overall number of requests since August 2010 and is the
largest number from Afghanistan since May 2011. Despite
the ongoing drawdown of forces, the continued demand
signal indicates the REF plays a critical role in equipping
soldiers and units with solutions. Through its three core
functions, the REF will continue to support the Army’s abil64
ARMY ■ September 2014
U.S. Army/Maj. Robert Lenz
Sgt. 1st Class Mark Henderson, operations NCO of an REF team, installs
a Rapid Deployment Integrated Surveillance System at Camp Victory in
Baghdad in 2007. The team developed the system in just three weeks.
ity to adapt to changing missions and environments.
As part of its long-term implementation plan, REF will
transition to TRADOC no later than September 2015. Its
mission, charter and physical location will remain unchanged. Its redesigned staffing organization will expand
and contract capabilities to scale in accordance with the
prevailing global circumstances—specifically, the number
and scope of incoming requirements. Program Executive
Office Soldier will continue as the Army Acquisition Executive’s designated milestone decision authority for REF.
As REF looks to the future, it will anticipate emerging
global requirements associated with an expeditionary
Army. First, its subject-matter experts will continue to work
with operational advisors to identify the unique tactical
challenges for each combatant command. REF will analyze
incoming and predicted requirements across all theaters to
identify common problems, inform leadership and determine where it can support with government off-the-shelf
and commercial off-the-shelf solutions. When a requirement for nonstandard equipment is anticipated, REF will
utilize its relationships with industry, academia and Army
partners to identify the corresponding technologies for future equipping potential. Finally, as units are identified to
support the regionally aligned forces structure, REF will
share this predictive analysis and work closely with the
unit to appropriately equip, if required.
Army forces are tailorable, scalable and always prepared
to rapidly respond to any global contingency mission.
Mechanisms to provide deploying units with nonstandard
equipment when they need it and where they need it must
be the same. Moving forward, the Army will now have the
full spectrum of requirement development and acquisition
capability—the deliberate long term and the agile short
term—to enable ourselves to adapt as needed in future operations. By retaining the REF, the Army is institutionalizing
the capability to prepare as best as possible for the unpredictable with its own enduring quick-reaction capability. ✭

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