Introduction

The book: NATO Response Forces is a 64 page A4, soft-backed book which contains page after page of full colour photographs relating to the vehicles and equipment used by the NRF (NATO Response Forces). It outlines the origin and concept of the force and its role and development to date, offering the reader for the first time a close look into the organisation, training and equipment used by the force. The book is written by Clemens Niesner, Copyright Verlag Jochen Vollert – Tankogard Publishing 2006.

For those unfamiliar with NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) I’ve included some basic information relating to the organisation and a contact web site if you wish to read more:

The North Atlantic Treaty

Washington D.C. - 4 April 1949

The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments.

They are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area.

They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty.

The Book

The book is written in both German and English, and at first this can be a little off putting. Also as this is a NATO force, expect many acronyms in the text, the first of which is NRF (NATO Reaction Force). The first 7 pages give the reader a lead into the thinking and organisational structure of the NRF and outline some of the many roles it was created to meet.

Command and control of the NRF of which so far there are 7 Land Component Commands (LCC) is set out below:

Rapid Deployment Turkish Corps HQ in Istanbul/TU (NRF 1/NRF 2)

Rapid Deployment Italian Corps HQ on Milan/IT (NRF 3)

1GE/NL Corps in Munster/GE (NRF 4)

Rapid Deployment Spanish Corps HQ in Velencia/SP (NRF 5)

Eurokorps HQ in Strasbourg/FR (NRF 6)

Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) HQ in Rheindalen/GE (NRF 7)

Obviously this is a vast organisation and the book therefore concentrates on the make up and structure of just one element that being NRF 4 whose main force is drawn from The Netherlands in the form of 43rd (NL) Mechanised Brigade with additional forces from Germany, Denmark, Norway, France, Spain and Turkey

To give you an idea of the complexity of such a force the main components of NRF 4 are listed below:

Staff 1st GE/NL Corps Munster (GE)

Staff Support Battalion 1st GE/NL Corps Munster (GE)

CIS Btl 1st GE/NL Corps Eibergen/Garderen (NL)

43rd (NL) mec.Brig HQ Darp/Havelte (NL)

1st Light Reconnaissance Squadron Ronne (DK)

44th (NL) Pantserinfanterirbataljon Steenwijk (NL)

Telemark Battalion Rena (NOR)

12th Infanteriebataljon Arnhem (NL)

Military Police battalion 373 Doderlug-Kirchhain (GE)

11th Pantergeniebataljon Wezep (NL)

Artillery Battle Group Haguenau (FRA)

101st CIS Bn Garderen (NL)

101st Engineer battalion Wezep (NL)

24th Air Defence Battery Valencia (ESP)

Airborne Infantry Company Bakanliklar-Aknkara(TUR)

4th Coy./MP Battalion 152 Wilhelmshaven (GE)

103rd ISTAR Battalion (multinational) t Harde (NL)

NBC defence battalion (multinational) Hoxter (GE)

Medical Task Force (multinational) Leer (GE)

LogBase Command (multinational) Apeldoorn (NL)

HQ support Company Apeldoorn (NL)

100Transport battalion (multinational)

Following the make up and structure of 4 NRF the book can then be broken down into coverage of the following specific elements

Structure 43rd (MN*) NRF Brigade (*Multinational)

Combat Support Formations

The Telemark Battalion (TMBN)

The Multi-National NBC Battalion (NRF)

462nd Logistics Battalion (NRF)

Medical Task Force (NRF)

Each element has a brief introductory text, outlining its role and the make up of the force, followed with good quality colour photographs of the personnel, vehicles and equipment in operation with informative and appropriate texts to accompany each photograph.

Conclusion

If you want to know how NATO is changing and the shape of things to come then this book is an informative though sometimes difficult read, as the translation is not always ‘how we might say it’, but that aside it gives a good picture of the updated thinking and organisational changes that have taken place within NATO; to meet what is now perceived as the next possible threat and how it intends to meet the ever changing demands placed on NATO troops in order that they may react quickly and effectively to any given situation.

With so many acronyms used a glossary of terms would have been a useful addition as would a table of contents at the start. What let the book down for me were the two languages running side by side as this made concentration slightly more difficult.

From a modelling point of view, this book contains excellent photographic references for a wide variety of modern fighting and support vehicles including some photographs of the Cougar Mk II and CH-47D transport helicopters. For the modern AFV enthusiast this would be a useful addition to the reference shelf.

Recommended

My thanks to Tankograd Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.