| Unit Name: | US Army Rapid Equipping Force |
| Dates: | 2002-2021 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Branch: | U.S. Army |
| Command Structure: | United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) |
| Garrison: | Fort Belvoir |
| Garrison Label: | Headquarters |
| Website: | https:// www.ref.army.mil |
| Commander1: | COL Joe D. Bookard |
| Commander1 Label: | Director |
The Rapid Equipping Force (REF) was a United States Army organization headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The organization was charged with quickly providing Army units deployed globally with innovative government off-the-shelf and commercially available solutions that address urgent requirements within 180 days or less. The REF was able to do this through unique authorities and by maintaining a presence near the point of need. REF personnel were positioned in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait and mobile laboratories are available for quick solutions. Additionally, the REF empowered the Army at a grassroots level, enabling individual soldiers to communicate needs directly through simple request forms.
Along with leveraging existing technology to meet urgent needs of Army forces deployed globally, the REF also informed longer-term materiel development for the future force. In October 2020, the Army announced it would dissolve the Asymmetric Warfare Group and the Rapid Equipping Force, by year-end FY2021 (September 30, 2021).
The REF provides innovative materiel solutions to meet the urgent requirements of U.S. Army forces employed globally, informs materiel development for the future force, and on order expands to meet operational demands.
The REF lines of support fall into four distinct categories: assess, equip, insert, and inform. Its primary function is to equip units with technologies that fill identified capability gaps. The REF provides training on these technologies downrange and at home-stations. It can insert selected future force solutions for operational evaluation in addition to providing new capabilities not readily available in the existing Army inventory. Finally, the REF constantly identifies and assesses emerging technologies and Army practices concerning operational needs affecting force readiness.
The REF is structured to integrate three distinct functions to provide the Army with a responsive, rapid acquisition organization. First, the REF Director has the unique authority to validate requirements. Second, the REF has acquisition authority and provided by the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology chartered Project Manager housed within REF's chain of command. Finally, the REF receives funding from a variety of sources, allowing it the flexibility to support Soldiers deployed around the world.
These three pillars of authority allow REF to quickly insert solutions into theater in weeks rather than years. REF aims to deliver items into Soldiers’ hands within 90 days, and has even provided a solution in 72 hours after learning of an urgent need.[1]
The REF can receive requests for support from any soldier, from a private to the Chief of Staff of the Army. These requests are submitted via a simple document called a "10-Liner" that prompts soldiers to describe the capability gaps they are facing downrange or as they prepare to deploy. From that information, the REF team begins the analysis and procurement process in order to best equip the requesting unit.
It is important to note that the REF equips specific units, not the entirety of the Army. If a solution is applicable to a larger portion of the Army, REF works with partner organizations to transition technologies to project managers who can then field the equipment to a larger portion of the Army.
The REF was created in 2002 after U.S. soldiers realized the need for non-standard equipment to meet the demands of new terrain, warfare tactics and their assigned missions. Since then, the REF has met challenges as diverse as enhancing soldier mobility, providing improved surveillance in austere locations, equipping operational energy sources and enhancing communications.
The 2004 REF Charter and Implementation Guidance and Coordination memo, signed by Lieutenant General Richard A. Cody, formalized REF's "equip," "insert," "assess" functions. The excerpt below outlines how each line of support would shape REF's mission.
"The REF will identify and evaluate emerging technologies, concepts, and surrogates to estimate/approximate threshold capabilities, while simultaneously providing operationally relevant capabilities to our combat forces within a time frame relevant to current operations... It is my intent to insert critical future technologies and capabilities into the current force while continuously shaping the future force and accelerating its evolution. Therefore, I direct expansion of the mission of the REF to encompass two additional critical functions:
In January 2014, the REF was deemed critical by the Army and transitioned to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
On October 2, 2020, the Department of the Army announced the discontinuation of the REF as the U.S. Army transitions from counter-insurgency operations to a focus on multi-domain operations and large scale combat operations. TRADOC directed the orderly closure of REF facilities, transfer of equipment and property, and transition of military and civilian personnel (to support other army efforts). The REF will complete the transition no later than September 30, 2021.[3]
The REF mitigates capability gaps across the spectrum of warfighter function areas and has supported many projects as listed below.
Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) ultra-sensitive metal detecting wand
A man-portable robot used for the disposal of IEDs and other dangerous explosives
A gunfire locator that uses microphone sensors to detect where shots originate
A hand-launched, remote controlled unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance
The REF currently supports priority equipping efforts over a wide range of challenges including solutions for subterranean operations, electronic warfare, unmanned and counter-unmanned aerial systems, intelligence, and expeditionary force protection.