U.S. Joint Forces Command
Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT)
Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., U.S. Joint Forces Command is one of nine unified commands in the Department of Defense. It is the only command with both a geographic region and a functional responsibility to support the other four geographic commanders. Among his duties, the commander-in-chief, USJFCOM, oversees military operations in the North Atlantic geographic area and supports the other commanders-in-chief in their geographic regions around the world.
On April 17, 2002 Defense officials announced changes in the Unified Command Plan. NORTHCOM takes the homeland defense role from the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). JFCOM's Joint Task Force-Civil Support and related activities will report to NORTHCOM. JFCOM headquarters are in Norfolk, Va. The command will retain its mission as a "force generator" to the geographical commands. The change will free the command to focus on its mission of helping to transform the U.S. military. This includes experimentation, innovation, improving interoperability and reviewing, validating and writing joint doctrine and preparing battle-ready joint forces and coordinating joint training, simulation and modeling. The current commander of Joint Forces Command is dual-hatted as NATO's supreme allied commander, Atlantic. That alliance command will be split off, and U.S. officials will consult with NATO allies to see how they want this handled. One anomaly is Alaska. NORTHCOM will cover the state, but the troops based there will be earmarked for PACOM.
USJFCOM has repeatedly provided trained and ready forces to deploy rapidly and conduct sustained operations worldwide — whether it's next door in Haiti, or halfway around the world in Bosnia, Rwanda or Kuwait. USJFCOM deploys supporting units on a rotating basis to the Balkans, Mediterranean, Middle East and Arabian Peninsula. They are key to the reduction and prevention of conflicts — serving as very visible reminders of America’s commitment to peace and stability.
In the Hampton Roads area, USJFCOM is a force of more than 2,300 people including members from each branch of the U.S. military, civil servants, contractors and consultants. This includes a headquarters staff of over 500 active duty military personnel, representing each of the four services, and approximately 300 civilian and contract employees. Additionally, there are four component commands, three sub-unified commands, two joint task forces and nine subordinate activities assigned to USJFCOM.
As chief advocate for jointness, USJFCOM maximizes the nation's future and present military capabilities through joint concept development and experimentation, recommending joint requirements, advancing interoperability, conducting joint training and providing ready continental U.S.-based forces and capabilities to support other combatant commanders-in-chief, the Atlantic Theater and domestic requirements.
USJFCOM develops future concepts for joint warfighting. Such work must include and strengthen Service efforts, draw on the best of industry, and follow the will of the citizens as expressed through Congress. New ideas for future warfare must be validated in practical experiments. Some good things can be done by computer-driven modeling and simulation, but sooner or later, we must try new operational measures in the air, at sea, and on the ground. The US military has a long tradition of honing skills in live wargames, from the fleet problems of the 1930s that defined carrier warfare to the Army's famous Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941 that developed combined arms air/ground operations.
USJFCOM retains responsibility for the North Atlantic and adjacent arctic and subarctic waters. Although the threat in this region is low, the political and economic importance of the Transatlantic link remains as vital as ever. Iceland, Greenland, the Azores, and Bermuda constitute vital ground. The Atlantic sea lanes and air lanes are always crowded with traffic crucial to the well being of many countries. The CINC's title as Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) for NATO keeps our theater in full perspective. It's important to both US allies and citizens.
Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) is one of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) two major strategic headquarters and the only one in North America. It is the senior military authority for NATO land, sea and air forces in the North Atlantic area, from the North Pole to the Tropic of Cancer, and from the East Coast of North America to the West Coast of Africa and Europe, approximately 12 million square miles. The Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, (SACLANT) is a U.S. Army General Officer. He is nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the North Atlantic Council, NATO's highest governing body. He receives his direction from the NATO Military Committee. The Deputy SACLANT is a UK Royal Navy Admiral.
Allied Command Atlantic's mission is to contribute towards the military capability required to preserve the peace, security and territorial integrity of alliance member states. Geographic realities remind us that NATO is an Atlantic alliance, dependent on vital sea lines for economic well being in peacetime and survival in war. SACLANT Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.
SACLANT's staff, including external branches, consists of 574 members (405 military and 87 civilian) from 17 of the 19 NATO nations, including France who has a mission located near SACLANT Headquarters. Allied Command Atlantic has a permanently assigned multinational naval force called the Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT), which consists of six to 10 ships from different NATO nations. The command is also responsible for the SACLANT Undersea Research Centre, located in La Spezia, Italy, which conducts marine research for both major NATO military commands and operates the research vessel Alliance
Allied Command Atlantic is divided into three geographical command areas: the Western Atlantic, the Eastern Atlantic and the South Atlantic. Within this framework, there are five major subordinate commanders, directly responsible to SACLANT. They are Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic Area (CINCEASTLANT) in Northwood/London, United Kingdom; Commander-in-Chief, Western Atlantic Area (CINCWESTLANT) in Norfolk, Virginia, United States; Commander-in-Chief, Southern Atlantic Area (CINCSOUTHLANT) in Oeiras/Lisbon, Portugal; and Commander Striking Fleet, Atlantic (COMSTRIKFLTLANT) and Commander, Submarines Allied Command Atlantic (COMSUBACLANT) both located in Norfolk, Virginia.
Also included in the area of responsibility are the island commands of the Faeroes, the Azores, Madeira, Greenland, Bermuda and Iceland.
During the peacetime that followed World War II, the military applied lessons learned from the war, adopting a new system of organization under a single secretary of defense. The system established the U.S. Air Force, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and new commands made up of components from more than one military service. These new multi-service or unified commands had broad, continuing missions and were intended to ensure that forces from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps would all work together.
The unified commands were either responsible for a geographical area (like Europe or the Pacific) or a specific function, such as transportation. Atlantic Command (now U.S. Joint Forces Command) was created as the unified command with responsibility for the Atlantic Ocean geographical region.
Due to the maritime nature of its missions, Atlantic Command was integrated with the Navy's existing Atlantic Fleet and was primarily staffed by Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Its initial mission was to guard sea lanes between Europe and the U.S. East Coast. As the Cold War heated up during the second half of the century, Atlantic Command's mission proved crucial protecting sea lanes in the Atlantic.
After the onset of the Cold War, Atlantic Command played a critical role ensuring NATO forces would be able to move troops and supplies across the Atlantic without Soviet intervention. Cooperation with NATO enabled Atlantic Command to form a coalition of strategically located bases and operational forces in the North Atlantic that could provide continuous protection and surveillance operations throughout the Cold War.
Although the Soviet surface navy didn't pose a considerable threat in the Atlantic, their submarines threatened NATO's defense of Western Europe. Consequently, Atlantic Command aircraft, ships and submarines were continually deployed to monitor and deter Soviet submarine operations in the Atlantic. Additionally, because of the dangers of Soviet air attack, Atlantic Command maintained a line of radar stations from Greenland, through Iceland, to the United Kingdom. From bases in Iceland, Air Force units assigned to Atlantic Command intercepted Soviet aircraft in the North Atlantic.
For most of the 20th Century, the U.S. used bases in Cuba and Puerto Rico to maintain a constant force in an area that was critical to the country's security and shipping When Fidel Castro's communist regime developed an alliance with the Soviet Union after taking control of the island in 1959, Atlantic Command suddenly had one of the Cold War's hottest spots within its geographical area. In 1961, the command found itself involved in the failed, CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion. Not informed of the invasion until the last moment, Atlantic Command leaders made what they considered to be the best possible decisions for a mission they felt was flawed. The command shifted naval forces and a battalion of Marines to an area that might influence the invasion, but did not participate. In the end, forces from the command helped evacuate remaining rebel Cubans who hadn't been captured by Castro's government.
Just over a year later, the Cuban Missile Crisis drew Atlantic Command forces into one of the Cold War's most dangerous episodes. After the CIA confirmed the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles on the island, President John F. Kennedy ordered Atlantic Command to form a 500-mile "quarantine" to interdict all ships entering Cuban waters. Concurrently the command prepared amphibious forces for a possible invasion. From Oct. 22 to 28, 1962, Atlantic Command naval forces engaged the Soviets in a tense confrontation at sea, backed by land and air forces of each nation. After Soviet withdrawal of its missiles from Cuba, tensions diminished and both sides stood down. Although the problem of a communist nation in the Caribbean was never solved, tensions in the region have not reached the same confrontational level since then.
To ensure the 1965 civil war in the Dominican Republic would not lead to another communist-ruled Soviet satellite in the Caribbean, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered Atlantic Command forces to intervene. Once established in the capital city of Santo Domingo, U.S. forces separated the two warring factions and then consolidated control over the city. Separating the left and the right wing groups was successful, but not easy. Until order was restored, U.S. forces were frequently caught in the middle of fighting that claimed 27 Americans lives. After about a week, U.S. presence proved effective. A cease-fire was declared. Over the next year, U.S. forces remained in the Dominican Republic to maintain stability. The election of a new president in June 1966 ensured the Dominican Republic completed the transition to a democratic government. After the election, all U.S. forces withdrew from Santo Domingo.
Even as the United States Navy suffered from the effects of the prolonged conflict in Vietnam, the Soviet Navy grew in strength and capabilities In addition to an improved submarine force, the Soviets developed a surface navy, including three VSTOL (Vertical/Short Take-Off Landing) aircraft carriers. Soviet ballistic missile submarines added to the urgency of U.S. anti-submarine warfare efforts.
In retrospect, the Soviet naval expansion lacked critical elements, including the economic infrastructure for sustained expansion. At the time, however, the threat cast a shadow over American ability to reinforce Europe in the event of a war. NATO planners were concerned that the Soviet Union could overrun Norway early in a war, gaining an unchallenged naval gateway to the Atlantic Ocean. In response, the U.S. Navy developed the "forward strategy," which called for engaging the Soviet Navy within the Norwegian Sea, north of Iceland. Maneuvers in sub-Arctic waters taxed the endurance of ships and people, a constant challenge to Atlantic Command leaders. Modernization efforts begun under President Jimmy Carter's administration continued through President Ronald Reagan's administration as the Navy developed its operational plans, manning and equipment to counter the Soviet threat.
When militant communists in Grenada staged a coup, installing up their own government in October of 1983, the U.S. was alarmed that another Communist bastion was evolving just miles from American shores Believing the new communist government was not legitimate and fearing for the safety of American students on the island, President Ronald Reagan ordered military intervention to stop consolidation of the new regime. An Atlantic Command Joint Task Force, commanded by Vice Adm. Joseph Metcalf with Army Maj. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf as ground operations adviser, invaded Grenada on Oct. 25. Army and Marine Corps units, in conjunction with forces from other Caribbean nations, overwhelmed Cuban and Grenadian resistance forces. Before long, the Atlantic Command task force established order and laid groundwork for democratic elections. Although the mission was a success, in the months after Urgent Fury politicians and military officers alike criticizing deficiencies evident upon analysis of the invasion.
The most glaring problem -- inadequate communication and coordination between the services -- led to demands for improvements in joint operations. In the years that followed, lessons learned from Urgent Fury and desire for seamless joint operations would become a major issue for Atlantic Command.
Fresh off victories in Panama and the Persian Gulf, the U.S. military began highlighting lessons learned from those campaigns and analyzing emerging threats in the new, post-cold war world. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Colin L. Powell, among others, knew the key to meeting challenges of the future was refining how U.S. Services work together in joint operations. He felt that a single, U.S.-based unified command should be responsible for training forces from all services for joint operations. This unified command would supply ready joint forces to other unified commanders-in-chief anywhere in the world.
In 1993, U.S. Atlantic Command fulfilled Gen. Powell's vision and became the first unified command to serve as U.S.-based force trainer, integrator and provider. Under the new Unified Command Plan, signed by President Bill Clinton on Sept. 24, 1993, Atlantic Command assumed combatant command of the Army's Forces Command (FORSCOM), the Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC), the Marine Corps Forces Command Atlantic (MARFORLANT) and the Navy's Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT). Integration of Service component commands marked the first time that Atlantic Command had permanent, peacetime control of major elements from all four services. The changes dramatically transformed the command's traditional Navy/Marine Corps composition. A new mission, to ensure all forces going into combat, anywhere in the world, would fight as integrated joint teams, was added to the command's existing Atlantic Ocean geographic mission.
After the Haitian military deposed democratically-elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide in 1991, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions against the small nation. Resulting economic hardships and political oppression led many Haitians to flee to nearby U.S. shores in makeshift boats. Atlantic Command played a major role in the episode, setting up and maintaining a temporary migrant camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for thousands of Haitian refugees -- called Operation GTMO, pronounced "gitmo," short for Guantanamo. After convincing the Haitian regime to step down peacefully in 1994, the U.S. ordered an Atlantic Command task force, along with troops from the international community, to deploy to the island nation to restore order and ensure a democratic government. As the situation stabilized, U.S. forces slowly withdrew troops and control of the peacekeeping operation. The United Nations assumed responsibility for Haitian operations in early 1995, although the U.S. still provided assets. Later that year, the Haitian people elected a new president. During the operation, Atlantic Command once again opened a migrant camp for Haitian refugees -- Operation Sea Signal -- at Guantanamo Bay. After government leadership was restored, most migrants were returned to Haiti. Only about 10,000 were allowed to stay in the United States.
In 1997, Atlantic Command's stewardship of the Caribbean was transferred to U.S. Southern Command.
In addition to its primary missions, the command has been tasked with unique responsibilities during its history, ranging from control of nuclear arsenals to scientific exploration. As Cold War tensions mounted at the end of the 1950's and nuclear missile silos were built across the country, Atlantic Command acquired operational management of the nation's newly-formed underwater nuclear arsenal. The Navy established stewardship of a portion of America's nuclear weapons in the late 1950's after accelerated development of the Polaris missile -- a submarine-launched intermediate range ballistic missile. Though the Navy was responsible for providing and supporting the submarines, operational control for launching the Polaris missiles during a crisis was directed through Atlantic Command's Commander-in-Chief, or "CINC."
Atlantic Command exercised control over annual Deep Freeze explorations that began in 1956, where scientists and supporting military personnel deployed to Antarctica to conduct experiments. As the unified command headquarters responsible for the region, Atlantic Command directed Deep Freeze operations which included moving personnel and supplies to the region during summer months, December to February.
Space exploration, during its earliest years, relied heavily upon U.S. Navy support from both the Atlantic and Pacific Commands. Given the technology of the time, the only method of spacecraft recovery was to allow the ocean to absorb the impact of landing, and then use pre-positioned ships to recover the capsule. As the space program gained momentum with the safe launch and recovery of Mercury astronauts in the early 1960's, NASA support became an historic mission for Atlantic Command. In 1965 alone, Atlantic Command naval forces devoted a total of 1,006 ship-days in support of NASA's Gemini manned space flights, primarily astronaut recovery.
In October 1999, the name of Atlantic Command changed to United States Joint Forces Command to emphasize the command's role leading transformation of U.S. military forces. Still one of five geographic combatant unified commands, U.S. Joint Forces Command formally took on a more functional role with the new name. It is the only unified command with both a geographic area and functional responsibilities.
Joint Forces Command gained a functional mandate to lead transformation of U.S. military joint warfighting into the 21st Century. The command's geographical responsibility was modified to more closely align with existing NATO Allied Command Atlantic's (ACLANT) area of responsibility -- both a long history of cooperation with European Allies and recent history in Central Europe indicate future military operations will not only be joint, but also combined national efforts.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Vision 2020 projects that conflicts of the future will go to the side with the right technology, applied at the right time with the right warrior. Re-designation reflected the command's commitment to experimentation with new warfighting concepts and technologies that answer the call in the Joint Chiefs vision.
Concurrently the command was charged to answer another national call to support terrorist response operations in the continental U.S. Joint Forces Command created the first domestic Joint Task Force, JTF-Civil Support, to provide military assistance to civil authorities, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and FBI, for consequence management of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) incidents in the United States.
