The Problem

In Afghanistan in 2002, Soldiers conducting combat operations were sustaining casualties from booby traps and grenade blow-back while searching and clearing caves.

The Discussion

As a result, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (VCSA) asked the following questions.

• Can robots help Soldiers clear caves?
• Can a robotic capability be demonstrated in theater within 90-days?
• Is there existing Army organization can accomplish this task?

The Solution

The VCSA authorized the formation of a Robotic Tiger Team, known as the Rapid Integration of Robot Systems (RIRS) to find a robot that addressed the shortfall and place it into theater quickly. The team partnered with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and industry partners, and in less than 30 days, procured the PackBot, the Marcbot and the M7 Operator Controller Unit (OCU) and subsequently deployed them to Afghanistan.

Following this success, the Rapid Equipping Force was founded under the Army G-3/5/7 in late 2002. Its primary task was to support Soldiers in Operation Enduring Freedom using deployed teams of subject matter experts and a headquarters office at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. When Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) began in March 2003, REF expanded its operations to include forward teams in Kuwait and Iraq. REF personnel provided manpower to support daily operations, but most importantly, REF continued to provide technology to fill capability gaps and to counter the highest priority threats.

Improvised Explosive Devises (IEDs) quickly became the primary threat to American Soldiers in Iraq. To address this threat, REF partnered with the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, the predecessor to JIEDDO. Together, the two organizations equipped units with the Ballistic Armor Kit for Vehicles that transformed the Army’s standard soft-skinned vehicles, used early on in OIF, into a much safer vehicle for Soldiers.

By this time, the applicability of REF’s capabilities to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan was well established. In order to give the organization broader authorities, in 2004 the Army established an embedded ASA(ALT) Project Manager within the REF to provide acquisition oversight and ensure compliance with acquisition laws and policies.

This increased independence allowed REF to address capability gaps for Soldiers promptly during the Iraq troop surge in 2007. As the number of troops increased, the number of 10-Liners submitted to REF increased. REF worked with partner organizations like JIEDDO and the Asymmetric Warfare Group to equip units with technologies that focused on the biggest threats at the time – IEDs and sniper fire. By 2008, REF had transitioned sixteen counter-sniper programs, such as Boomerang, to partner organizations for wider fielding.

As the U.S. decreased the number of missions in Iraq, the REF refocused on the war in Afghanistan. Just as in Iraq, during the OEF troop surge REF saw an increase in the number of requests for support.

One of the major OEF requirement trends was increased support to small units at the tactical edge. REF provided critical ISR, force protection and operational energy capabilities in support of small combat outpost sustainment. To increase operational effectiveness, optimize logistics and improve power surety, REF developed the Energy to the Edge (E2E) initiative. E2E teams visit FOBs and COPs in theater to assess, equip and advise units on existing standard equipment, emerging energy efficient technologies and their employment methods.

The REF also developed the Expeditionary Labs, containerized engineering hubs, to provide rapid solution development and prototype design at the point-of-need. For more information on Expeditionary Labs, click here.

In 2014, the Undersecretary of the Army published a memo deeming the Rapid Equipping Force capability enduring and mandating its realignment to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. On Jan. 30, 2015, the Deputy Commanding General of TRADOC presided over the REF Patch Exchange ceremony commemorating the organization’s realignment