Rapid Forces Division

Rapid Forces Division
German: Division Schnelle Kräfte
Division Schnelle Kräfte Shoulder Insignia
Active	1956–1994, 1994–2001 2001–present (DSK since 1 January 2014)
Country	Germany  Netherlands (since 2014)
Allegiance	Germany
Branch	Army
Type	Rapid deployment force Special forces
Size	9,500 German 2,300 Dutch
Part of	German Army
Garrison/HQ	Stadtallendorf
Motto(s)	Ready for action, at any time, worldwide! Einsatzbereit, jederzeit, weltweit!
Anniversaries	April 1, 2001
Engagements	Somalian Civil War Bosnian Civil War 1997 Albanian civil unrest Kosovo War Afghanistan War Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Anaconda Operation Harekate Yolo I Operation Harekate Yolo II Operation Oqab Operation Gala-e Gorg Congolese Civil War
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Dirk Faust
Notable commanders	Lieutenant General Hans-Otto Budde Lieutenant General Jörg Vollmer

The Rapid Forces Division (German: Division Schnelle Kräfte), formerly Special Operations Division (Division Spezielle Operationen), is an airborne division of the German Army that was activated in 2001 and received its current designation in 2014.

Its headquarters staff is based at Stadtallendorf. It was created as 1st Airborne Division (1. Luftlandedivision) in 1956 and reflagged twice in 1994 and 2001 as Airmobile Forces Command/4th Division (Kommando Luftbewegliche Kräfte/4. Division), Special Operations Division and eventually Rapid Forces Division. The division leads three combat brigades and special forces troops, all of which are fully air-mobile.

In June 2014, the Dutch 11th Air Mobile Brigade was fully integrated into the division as part of the binational military cooperation between Germany and the Netherlands and in 2017 the Romanian 81st Mechanized Brigade followed suit.^[1]