Computer training

SUFFOLK, VA. -- U.S Joint Forces Command recently assisted in the delivery of additional joint warfighting capability to two of the Defense Department's regional combatant commands when the command charged with leading the transformation of the U.S. military helped stand up a vital new function.

USJFCOM delivered the Standing Joint Force Headquarters Core Element, a 58-member team of operational planners and information command and control specialists which forms the core of a joint task force headquarters command structure.

Within the past five months, USJFCOM helped bring on line two SJFHQs for regional combatant commanders at U.S. Pacific Command and at U.S. Southern Command. According to SJFHQ planners, USJFCOM also plans to stand up SJFHQs at three other unified commands, including the U.S. European Command and U.S. Northern Command who are scheduled to be on line by October 2004.

All geographic combatant commands are slated to have SJFHQs by fiscal year 2005, according to Navy Rear ADM Richard J. O'Hanlon, who oversees the SJFHQ development and implementation efforts. The capability is a high priority of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force GEN Richard Myers due to its importance to the warfighter.

"(The SJFHQ) provides a ready full-time team that aids in the ability to stand up a joint task force headquarters quickly," said O'Hanlon. "By providing a joint cadre of trained planners and operators who have a thorough understanding of effects based operations and the regional commander's intent, we have found that a joint task force headquarters can come up to fighting speed quicker than we have seen in the past.

"Using tools such as the collaborative information environment, a JTF headquarters using the enabling capabilities of the SJFHQ can get all the relevant planning and operating information on the table much faster thus decreasing its planning and recommendation cycle so commanders can make decisions faster than we've seen in the past," said the admiral.

"What would have normally taken (the RCC) days to weeks, in planning effort, now takes hours to less than a couple of days," said Navy CPT Tom McKeon, deputy director of USJFCOM's SJFHQ prototype.

According to McKeon, the process' speed increases since all or part of an SJFHQ element work for a combatant commander.

Through the use of collaborative tools such as the CIE, the SJFHQ develops a pre-crisis knowledge base of an adversary's systems and capabilities which leads to the creation of an operational network assessment.

"The ONA gives the warfighter a great analysis of the area they're operating in so they know what the key nodes are that they need to influence to reach their objectives and get the results they're looking for in their theater," said O'Hanlon.

The SJFHQ also incorporates effects based planning, which designs strategies to attack key strengths and weaknesses of an enemy. Within this process, an SJFHQ enables RCCs to coordinate with members of the interagency community, such as the U.S. State Department or Department of Justice, to assist in crisis interaction in the planning of a campaign.

The ONA supports the SJFHQ in performing effects based operations, which deal with the diplomatic, information, military, economic and social aspects of a campaign and are designed to alter an adversary's behavior and ability to continue effective operations.

An additional six-member system of systems analysis team helps build the SJFHQ's situational awareness in the theater of operations, said McKeon.

"You actually have a core group of 58 people, supported by the 6 SoSA, who are cross-functionally organized with logisticians, operations specialists, planners and communicators that come from all the services," said McKeon, "They operate together within the RCC headquarters both in exercises and planning and can focus on an area of interest before it becomes a crisis area."

When combatant commanders need to stand up a joint task force, they will now have a well-informed cadre of individuals from the SJFHQ who have worked together, trained together, understand what is going on in the area of responsibility, have developed situational awareness and a situational understanding of the commander's intent, according to McKeon.

One of the major roles for USJFCOM in assisting the set up of SJFHQs involves an 11-month training process that includes not only classroom training, but also training via the CIE.

"We do some forming exercises where we take members of the SJFHQ and put them through some exercises that help teach them their jobs and duties, capped off by theater exercises where the SJFHQ gets to demonstrate it's ability to plan and execute an operation," said O'Hanlon.

"After the SJFHQ is formed we routinely contact them collaboratively to answer their questions or to provide continuing training or keep them informed on what we're learning as we continue to evolve some of the aspects of SJFHQ," he added.

Prior to the forming of SJFHQs, USJFCOM focused its efforts for nearly five years to figure out how to conduct operations in tandem with the standing up of a JTF HQ. In the past, problems arose when commanders at service-centric two or three star headquarters were tasked with standing up a JTF HQ due to their service centric manning and unfamiliarity with the operational level situation, according to O'Hanlon.

By February 2002, USJFCOM had moved the SJFHQ from the conceptual stage to the experimental design phase. Another high mark for the SJFHQ came later that year during Millennium Challenge 02.

"SFHQs were one of the main focus areas examined during MC02, and it was proven there that they added real value," said O'Hanlon.

Recent exercises to include Terminal Fury 04 and Blue Advance 04 have also helped to prove the worth of SJFHQs through feedback from combatant commanders, according to O'Hanlon.

"PACOM leaders were impressed with the effects based mentality that their SJFHQ brought to the table and the effects assessment process that allowed them to see whether or not their plan was working," said O'Hanlon. "They were also impressed with the interagency coordination aspects."

"SOUTHCOM liked the planning processes in that the situational awareness of the rest of the headquarters staff was higher prior to the (Blue Advance) exercise," added O'Hanlon. "This was because of the SJFHQ not forcing, but facilitating people to think through the problem and being better able to begin."

The mission of the SJFHQ currently in operation at USJFCOM will not cease once all the combatant commands have their own SJFHQs formed.

"The one that's in existence right now is a training unit, and once the SJFHQs are stood up by FY05, we intend to keep this unit in existence to continue to train new crewmembers that are showing up at the RCC and to be able to provide assistance to the RCCs as necessary," said O'Hanlon.

Additionally, according to O'Hanlon, strategic planning guidance for 2006 gives direction for the establishment of another USJFCOM SJFHQ-one which functions as an operational unit.

"Once trained and ready, we will be able to deploy this SJFHQ worldwide to support RCCs with their focus areas," said O'Hanlon. "We'll have an operational mission and if an RCC asks for our SJFHQ, as force provider, we will supply that SJFHQ to support the RCC."

Participants in the project said establishing the SJFHQs has been a worthwhile experience.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to contribute to the joint world," said O'Hanlon. "We have attacked the traditional problems with the stand up of joint task force headquarters and have developed new tools to help (combatant commanders) analyze their tasks more thoroughly. My people are pretty excited about what they're doing and look forward to continue to meet the challenges ahead in bringing the SJFHQ to the field."

McKeon echoed O'Hanlon's sentiments.

"To be able to build this team that has the potential for averting a conflict before it can start and bring all the elements of national power to bear should the conflict go into crisis is wonderful," said McKeon. "You're talking about not only saving the lives of our service members but also the men, women and children of a country that may be facing a potential conflict."

SGT Cupp is with USJFCOM Public Affairs Office.