Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC)

Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) provides NATO with a well-manned, rapidly deployable, flexible HQ that can act as a Joint, Land or Corps HQ for operations and crisis response. Its European, multi-national ethos, combination of cultures and innovation, strong professional reputation in NATO and proven track record in interoperability are unique among its High Readiness Force (Land) (HRF(L)) peers.

2017 marked the 25th anniversary as HQ ARRC and 200th Anniversary of its antecedent, 1 Corps. Throughout its history the Corps has played a key role in international events. It began its journey fighting under Wellington at Waterloo. In the First World War it fought in France and Belgium, and in the Second World War it was responsible for two of the D-Day beachheads and a number of airborne assaults, as part of the Allied re-entry into Europe. Throughout the Cold War 1 (BR) Corps was the UK’s contribution to NATO’s defence against the Soviet Union.

With the end of the Cold War, HQ ARRC emerged as the first NATO Rapid Reaction Land Force Headquarters. Such was the success of the structure developed by ARRC, in 2002 it was used as the model for the development of other HRF(L) Headquarters. From 1994 until 2010, the ARRC was based in Rheindahlen, Germany. In 2010 the ARRC moved to its current location at, Imjin Barracks, Gloucester.

In line with its operational ethos, ARRC commanded the Land element of NATO's first ever deployment as part of the Implementation Force (IFOR) operation in Bosnia in 1995. It deployed again as the headquarters commanding Land Forces during the Kosovo War in 1999. Other operations have included the formation of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in 2006 and as ISAF Joint Command in 2011.

Today, the ARRC is the UK’s largest deployable Land HQ. It remains the UK’s contribution to NATO’s HRF(L) structure and is unique amongst all other HRF(L)s by falling under the direct Operational Command of Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) during peacetime.

Although HQ ARRC’s ‘framework nation’ is the United Kingdom, comprising approximately sixty percent of the overall staff, the ARRC is fully multinational in nature and organisation, with twenty-one NATO and Partner Nations overall contributing personnel. A number of other nations will become part of the ARRC before the end of 2017.