With the passage of the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, the relevance of a force with planet-wide responsibilities became less apparent and the RDJTF was deactivated.

The IRF's first emergency deployment occurred in January 2020 and consisted of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division plus supporting Air Force assets.

[2] In June 2020, one infantry battalion of the IRF deployed to Fort Belvoir in response to riots in Washington, D.C.

[3] The IRF's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division was deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Allies Refuge in August 2021.

[4] Elements of the 82nd Airborne, which makes up the core of the IRF, were mobilized and deployed to eastern Europe in support of NATO during the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis.