United States Joint Forces Command
Encyclopedia
United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a former Unified Combatant Command
of the United States Armed Forces
. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno
. As directed by the President to identify opportunities to cut costs and rebalance priorities, Defense Secretary Robert Gates
recommended that USJFCOM be disestablished and its essential functions reassigned to other unified combatant commands. Formal disestablishment occurred on August 4, 2011.
was renamed and given a new mission: leading the transformation of the U.S. military through experimentation and education. USLANTCOM had been active from 1947 to 1993 as a primarily U.S. Navy command, focused upon the wartime defence of the Atlantic sea lanes against Soviet attack. After the end of the Cold War, a 1993 reorganization gave the Command a new acronym, USACOM, and brought United States Army Forces Command
and Air Combat Command
under its authority.
In late 2004, U.S. Joint Forces Command assumed the role of primary conventional force provider. This landmark change assigned nearly all U.S. conventional forces to Joint Forces Command. Requirements, for example, for U.S. service personnel to support the transformation of the Armed Forces of Liberia
, were fed to JFCOM, in this case via Africa Command
, and JFCOM liasied with the service staffs to obtain available forces. Along with this responsibility came the task to develop a new 'risk-assessment' process that provided national leaders a world-wide perspective on force-sourcing solutions.
Its operations and exercises included Noble Resolve
, an experimentation campaign plan to enhance homeland defense and improve military support to civil authorities in advance of and following natural and man-made disasters and Empire Challenge, an annual intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) interoperability demonstration.
. Its Unified Command Plan designated USJFCOM as the "transformation laboratory" of the United States military to enhance the combatant commanders' capabilities to implement the president's strategy. USJFCOM developed joint operational concepts, tested those concepts through rigorous experimentation, educated joint leaders, trained joint task force
commanders and staffs, and recommended joint solutions to the Army
, Navy
, Air Force
and Marines to better integrate their warfighting capabilities.
(JWAC). JFCOM's Service components were the CONUS
based commands that provided forces to other combatant commands: United States Army Forces Command
(FORSCOM), United States Fleet Forces Command
(USFLTFORCOM), Air Combat Command
(ACC), and United States Marine Corps Forces Command
(MARFORCOM).
Robert Gates
announced that Joint Forces Command has been slated for elimination as a budget-saving measure. General Ray Odierno was given the task of winding down JFCOM. On 6 January 2011, the plan was officially approved in a memorandum by President Obama. On 4 August 2011, Joint Forces Command cased its flag colors and officially disestablished on 31 August 2011.
Unified Combatant Command
A Unified Combatant Command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide effective command and control of U.S. military forces, regardless of...
of the United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno
Raymond T. Odierno
Raymond T. Odierno is a United States Army general and the 38th and current Chief of Staff of the Army. Odierno most recently commanded United States Joint Forces Command from October 2010 until its disestablishment in August 2011. He served as Commanding General, United States Forces – Iraq and...
. As directed by the President to identify opportunities to cut costs and rebalance priorities, Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
recommended that USJFCOM be disestablished and its essential functions reassigned to other unified combatant commands. Formal disestablishment occurred on August 4, 2011.
History
USJFCOM was formed in 1999 when the old United States Atlantic CommandUnited States Atlantic Command
United States Atlantic Command was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. In 1999, U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as United States Joint Forces Command.-History:USLANTCOM was active from the 1947 to 1993 as a primarily U.S...
was renamed and given a new mission: leading the transformation of the U.S. military through experimentation and education. USLANTCOM had been active from 1947 to 1993 as a primarily U.S. Navy command, focused upon the wartime defence of the Atlantic sea lanes against Soviet attack. After the end of the Cold War, a 1993 reorganization gave the Command a new acronym, USACOM, and brought United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command is the largest Army Command and the preeminent provider of expeditionary, campaign-capable land forces to Combatant Commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 Active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National...
and Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
under its authority.
In late 2004, U.S. Joint Forces Command assumed the role of primary conventional force provider. This landmark change assigned nearly all U.S. conventional forces to Joint Forces Command. Requirements, for example, for U.S. service personnel to support the transformation of the Armed Forces of Liberia
Armed Forces of Liberia
The Armed Forces of Liberia are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, the military was retitled in 1956. For virtually all of its history, the AFL has received considerable materiel and training assistance from the United States. For most of...
, were fed to JFCOM, in this case via Africa Command
United States Africa Command
The United States Africa Command is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States Armed Forces, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U.S. military operations and military relations with 53 African nations – an area of responsibility covering all...
, and JFCOM liasied with the service staffs to obtain available forces. Along with this responsibility came the task to develop a new 'risk-assessment' process that provided national leaders a world-wide perspective on force-sourcing solutions.
Its operations and exercises included Noble Resolve
Noble Resolve
Noble Resolve is a United States Joint Forces Command experimentation campaign plan to enhance homeland defense and improve military support to civil authorities in advance of and following natural and man-made disasters.The Noble Resolve campaign will:...
, an experimentation campaign plan to enhance homeland defense and improve military support to civil authorities in advance of and following natural and man-made disasters and Empire Challenge, an annual intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) interoperability demonstration.
Mission
United States Joint Forces Command was the only combatant command focused on the transformation of U.S. military capabilities. The commander of USJFCOM oversaw the command's four primary roles in transformation – joint concept development and experimentation, joint training, joint interoperability and integration, and the primary conventional force provider as outlined in the Unified Command Plan approved by the PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Its Unified Command Plan designated USJFCOM as the "transformation laboratory" of the United States military to enhance the combatant commanders' capabilities to implement the president's strategy. USJFCOM developed joint operational concepts, tested those concepts through rigorous experimentation, educated joint leaders, trained joint task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
commanders and staffs, and recommended joint solutions to the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and Marines to better integrate their warfighting capabilities.
Organization
USJFCOM included members from each branch of the U.S. military, civil servants, contract employees, and consultants. It had four component commands, a sub-unified command (Special Operations component is SOCJFCOM and eight subordinate activities, including: Joint Warfighting Center; Joint Systems Integration Center; Joint Transformation Command for Intelligence; and Joint Warfare Analysis CenterJoint Warfare Analysis Center
Joint Warfare Analysis Center is a subordinate command of United States Joint Forces Command that contributes to United States national security by recommending strategic technical solutions. JWAC has evolved from a small program office into a joint command of more than 500 personnel...
(JWAC). JFCOM's Service components were the CONUS
Conus
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
based commands that provided forces to other combatant commands: United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command is the largest Army Command and the preeminent provider of expeditionary, campaign-capable land forces to Combatant Commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 Active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National...
(FORSCOM), United States Fleet Forces Command
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
(USFLTFORCOM), Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
(ACC), and United States Marine Corps Forces Command
United States Marine Corps Forces Command
Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command , headquartered at Naval Support Activity Norfolk, Virginia, commands Service retained-operating forces; executes force sourcing and synchronization to affect force generation actions in the provisioning of joint capable Marine Corps forces, and directs...
(MARFORCOM).
Disestablishment
On 9 August 2010 Secretary of DefenseUnited States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
announced that Joint Forces Command has been slated for elimination as a budget-saving measure. General Ray Odierno was given the task of winding down JFCOM. On 6 January 2011, the plan was officially approved in a memorandum by President Obama. On 4 August 2011, Joint Forces Command cased its flag colors and officially disestablished on 31 August 2011.
Former commanders
- AdmiralAdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Harold Gehman, USN (1999–2000) - GeneralGeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
William F. KernanWilliam F. KernanGeneral William F. "Buck" Kernan was born in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He was commissioned in November 1968 from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He holds a bachelor's degree in History, and a master's degree in Personnel Administration. His military education includes the...
, USAUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
(2000–2002) - Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, USN (2002–2005)
- General Lance L. SmithLance L. SmithUnited States Air Force General Lance L. Smith served as the Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation from November 10, 2005 to November 9, 2007...
, USAF (2005–2007) - General James N. Mattis, USMC (2007–2010)
- Lieutenant-General Keith M. Huber, USA (2010) (acting)
- General Raymond T. OdiernoRaymond T. OdiernoRaymond T. Odierno is a United States Army general and the 38th and current Chief of Staff of the Army. Odierno most recently commanded United States Joint Forces Command from October 2010 until its disestablishment in August 2011. He served as Commanding General, United States Forces – Iraq and...
, USA (2010–2011)