# Task force > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Task_force > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Task_force.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_force > Source revision: 1354479250 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Group or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Task force" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) "Task group" redirects here; not to be confused with [Task group (sociology)](/source/Task_group_(sociology)). For task forces on Wikipedia projects, see [WP:TF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:TF). For other uses, see [Task force (disambiguation)](/source/Task_force_(disambiguation)). A **task force** (**TF**) is a [unit or formation](/source/Military_organization) established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy),[1] the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of [NATO](/source/NATO) terminology. Many non-military organizations now create "task forces" or task groups for temporary activities that might have once been performed by *[ad hoc (designated purpose)](/source/Ad_hoc)* [committees](/source/Committee). In non-military contexts, [working groups](/source/Working_group) are sometimes called task forces. ## Military ### Naval This section is an excerpt from [Naval task force](/source/Naval_task_force).[[edit](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Naval_task_force&action=edit)] The concept of a [naval task force](/source/Naval_task_force) or simply task force is as old as [navies](/source/Navies), and prior to that time the assembly of ships for naval operations was referred to as [fleets](/source/Naval_fleet), [divisions](/source/Division_(naval)), or on the smaller scale, [squadrons](/source/Squadron_(naval)), and [flotillas](/source/Flotilla). Before [World War II](/source/World_War_II), ships were collected into [divisions](/source/Division_(naval)) derived from the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy)'s "division" of the [line of battle](/source/Line_of_battle) in which one squadron usually remained under the direct command of the [Admiral of the Fleet](/source/Admiral_of_the_Fleet), one squadron was commanded by a [Vice Admiral](/source/Vice_Admiral), and one by a [Rear Admiral](/source/Rear_Admiral), each flying a different [command flag](/source/List_of_command_flags_of_the_Royal_Navy), hence the terms [flagship](/source/Flagship) and [flag officer](/source/Flag_officer). The names "Vice" (second) and "Rear" might have derived from sailing positions within the line at the moment of [engagement](/source/Engagement_(military)). In the late 19th century ships were collected in numbered [squadrons](/source/Squadron_(naval)), which were assigned to named (such as the [Asiatic Fleet](/source/Asiatic_Fleet)) and later numbered [fleets](/source/Naval_fleet). A task force can be assembled using ships from different divisions and squadrons, without requiring a formal and permanent fleet reorganization, and can be easily dissolved following completion of the operational task. The task force concept worked very well, and by the end of World War II about 100 task forces had been created in the U.S. Navy alone.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ### Army v t e Army units and organization Subordinated element Fireteam / Crew Ø Squad ● Section / Patrol ●● Platoon / Troop / Flight ●●● Staffel / Echelon ●●●● Unit Company / Battery / Squadron ❘ Battalion / Squadron / Cohort ❘ ❘ Regiment / Group ❘ ❘ ❘ Formation Brigade / Group / Wing ☓ Division / Legion ☓☓ Corps / Group army ☓☓☓ Command Field army / Command ☓☓☓☓ Army group / Front ☓☓☓☓☓ Region / Theater ☓☓☓☓☓☓ Temporary Chalk Field force Task force Brigade group Flying column Combat command Battlegroup Combat team Other Detachment Regimental combat team Battalion tactical group In the [U.S. Army](/source/U.S._Army), a task force is a [battalion](/source/Battalion)-sized (usually, although there are variations in size) *ad hoc* unit formed by attaching smaller elements of other units. A [company](/source/Company_(military_unit))-sized unit with an [armored](/source/Armored_warfare) or [mechanized infantry](/source/Mechanized_infantry) unit attached is called a *company team*. A similar unit at the [brigade](/source/Brigade) level is called a *[brigade combat team](/source/Brigade_combat_team)* (BCT), and there is also a similar *[Regimental combat team](/source/Regimental_combat_team)* (RCT). In the [British Army](/source/British_Army) and the armies of other [Commonwealth countries](/source/Commonwealth_of_Nations), such units are traditionally known as [battlegroups](/source/Battlegroup_(army)). The [1st Australian Task Force](/source/1st_Australian_Task_Force) (1 ATF) was a [brigade](/source/Brigade)-sized formation which commanded [Australian](/source/Australian_Army) and [New Zealand Army](/source/New_Zealand_Army) units deployed to [South Vietnam](/source/South_Vietnam) between 1966 and 1972.[2] More recently, Australian task forces have been designated to cover temporary support elements such the battalion-sized force which operated in [Urozgan Province](/source/Urozgan_Province), Afghanistan from 2006 to 2013,[3] and the [Northern Territory Emergency Response Task Force](/source/Northern_Territory_National_Emergency_Response).[4] ### Other data regarding military US task forces - Some task forces are named after their commander, such as [Dunsterforce](/source/Dunsterforce). - [Task Force Tarawa](/source/Task_Force_Tarawa), the name given the [2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade](/source/2nd_Marine_Expeditionary_Brigade) during the [2003 invasion of Iraq](/source/2003_invasion_of_Iraq) [Operation Iraqi Freedom](/source/Operation_Iraqi_Freedom). They were a [Marine Air-Ground Task Force](/source/Marine_Air-Ground_Task_Force) commanded by Brigadier General Richard Natonski, attached to the [I Marine Expeditionary Force](/source/I_Marine_Expeditionary_Force). - [Task Force Leatherneck](/source/Task_Force_Leatherneck) is the name given the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during their 2009 operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. They are a Marine Air-Ground Task Force commanded by Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, assigned to work under the [International Security Assistance Force](/source/International_Security_Assistance_Force). - US Army [Task Force Lethal](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Task_Force_Lethal&action=edit&redlink=1) is the name for 2-12 Infantry battalion out of Fort Carson, Colorado. Part of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment Task Force Lethal. Some of the heaviest firefights US troops were engaged in were in the Kunar province by teams of Task Force Lethal, there to replace members of the 173rd Airborne units and their outpost Restrepo. Task Force Lethal is assigned to work as part of the International Security Assistance Force. Task Force Lethal prides itself as one of the Army's premier multi-task light Infantry units that has trained at home in the mountainous regions of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and excels at high altitude warfare. The commandos of Task Force Lethal have remained one of the US Army's most elite task forces in the global [war on terror](/source/War_on_terror) since the start in 2003. - [Task Force 1-41 Infantry](/source/Task_Force_1-41_Infantry) was a U.S. Army heavy battalion task force which took part in the [Gulf War](/source/Gulf_War) of January–March 1991. Task Force 1-41 Infantry was the first coalition force to breach the Saudi Arabian border on 15 February 1991 and conduct ground combat operations in Iraq engaging in direct and indirect fire fights with the enemy on 17 February 1991. It consisted primarily of the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, and the 4th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, all being part of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward), based at Lucius D. Clay Kaserne, 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Bremen, in the Federal Republic of Germany. ## Government and business In government and business, a task force is a temporary group created to deal with a specific issue.[5] It is usually made up of people chosen for their knowledge or experience in the subject. A task force typically reviews the situation, identifies the main problems, considers possible ways to address them, and reports its findings to the organization that created it. The task force itself does not usually make final decisions. In business, task forces are often formed to respond to urgent or time-limited problems. These groups are dissolved once their work is finished. ## See also - [Internet Engineering Task Force](/source/Internet_Engineering_Task_Force) - [Joint task force](/source/Joint_task_force) - *[Kampfgruppe](/source/Kampfgruppe)* - [Space Task Group](/source/Space_Task_Group) - [Task management](/source/Task_management) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-RobTFs_1-0)** Robinson, Colin D. (January 2020). "The U.S. Navy's task forces: 1–199". *Defence and Security Analysis*. **36** (1): 109–110. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/14751798.2020.1712028](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F14751798.2020.1712028). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [213678034](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:213678034). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Horner, David, ed. (2008). *Duty First: A History of the Royal Australian Regiment* (Second ed.). Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. p. 177. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781741753745](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781741753745). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-APH_Afghanistan_chronology_as_of_2010_3-0)** Brangwin, Nicole; Rann, Anne (16 July 2010). ["Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan since 2001: a chronology"](http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/1011/MilitaryInvolvementAfghanistan). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 31 December 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Operation OUTREACH"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100824180209/http://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opoutreach/index.htm). *Global Operations*. Department of Defence. Archived from [the original](http://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opoutreach/index.htm) on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Bortal, Karim (2016), Bortal, Karim (ed.), "Task Force", *Task Force Management: Leitfaden für Manager* (in German), Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 1–34, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/978-3-662-46728-2_1](https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-662-46728-2_1), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-662-46728-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-662-46728-2){{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation)}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_work_parameter_with_ISBN)) ## Further reading - Timothy M. Bonds, Myron Hura, Thomas-Durrell Young (2010). *[Enhancing Army Joint Force Headquarters Capabilities](https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG675-1.html)*. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Task force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_force) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_force?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.