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MoD Reopens Upgraded Joint Operations Center (Baghdad)

Multi-National Force-Iraq

Thursday, 03 December 2009

Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Phoenix Base
APO AE 09348

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release No. 091203-01
Dec. 2, 2009
Contact: pao@iraq.centcom.mil
DSN: 318-852-1334

MoD Reopens Upgraded Joint Operations Center

BAGHDAD -- Ministry of Defense officials reopened the Joint Operations Center with state of the art tracking systems and monitors here Dec 1 after a lengthy refurbishment.

Minister of Defense Abdul Qader Mohammad Jassim cut the ceremonial ribbon on the portal of the new center marking the grand reopening of the JOC. The future of Iraq depends on the strength of it security, he said.

The MoD band played as military officials from NATO and U.S. forces mingled with Iraqi military leaders on the main floor of the JOC. One U.S. officer said the opening of the JOC will result in an improved flow of information between the tactical forces on the street that carry out the tasks and the strategic level decision makers at MOD. “This gives the military and police on the ground the upper hand, but they can’t do it without the reports and support of the Iraqi people,” said MoD liaison Lt. Cmdr. Michael P. Desmond.

Kindergarteners lined the walls of the hallway leading to the JOC waving small Iraqi flags. As Jassim passed the children, he stopped and smiled as a small boy delivered a poem about the strength of Iraq. Jassim noted the importance of the children to Iraq in his speech to the attendees. “It is [because of] these flowers of Iraq that we must secure Iraq’s future.”

The fully networked JOC can accommodate several dozen people and is outfitted with an array of detailed geo-political maps and video monitors along its walls. Core personnel that comprise a standard watch team are each responsible for monitoring a particular facet of military operations.

The JOC operates around the clock and features a 24-hour hotline for incoming tips from the people. “The hotline is for every citizen of Iraq to call us and report suspicious persons,” said military movement director Staff Maj. Gen. Hisham. “Through this hotline we have intercepted and averted many violent terrorist acts.”

November has had the fewest reported acts of terrorism since the U.S. entered Iraq in 2003.

NATO Training Mission-Iraq Deputy Commander, Italian Maj. Gen. Giuseppe Spinelli expressed his confidence in the Iraqi mission and agreed the future of Iraq is now in the hands of the Iraqi people.

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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS CONCERNING THIS RELEASE, CONTACT THE MULTI-NATIONAL SECURITY TRANSITION COMMAND – IRAQ PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE BY E-MAIL AT PAO@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL OR BY PHONE AT DSN: (318) 852-1332 OR IRAQNA: 0790-194-0270. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION VISIT: WWW.MNSTCI.IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL .

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