Combat readiness

Combat readiness is a condition of the armed forces and their constituent units and formations, warships, aircraft, weapon systems or other military technology and equipment to perform during combat military operations,[1] or functions consistent with the purpose for which they are organized or designed, or the managing of resources and personnel training in preparation for combat.[2]

Three United States Armed Forces rear and non-combat personnel—a U.S. Army military construction supervisor, a U.S. Air Force cyber transport technician, and a U.S. Navy cook—during combat training to ensure combat readiness, in 2014

Royal Canadian Air Force alert crew at Zweibrücken Air Base in West Germany waiting to scramble in 1957

Different armed forces maintain different levels of readiness for the troops to engage in combat, varying from minutes to months; economic considerations are a major factor in explaining the variation.[3] In modern armed forces, troops designated special forces are usually those kept at the highest state of readiness for combat, and are often alerted only a few hours before being committed to combat. Where time is of the essence in military action being initiated, the troops, such as pilots of interceptor aircraft, may be kept in constant state of combat readiness.