Challenges to Train, Organize, and Equip the Complete Combined Arms Team: The Joint Task Force

摘要

With the end of the Cold War, military operations planning has shifted in emphasis away from a permanent organization implementing a detailed plan against a known and powerful threat and toward creating a temporary organization and creating a plan in response to a rapidly emerging crisis. That temporary organization is the Joint Task Force (JTF). Thus, readiness to respond to a crisis is dependent on the readiness of Service forces and of an organization that does not exist. The newly appointed Joint Force Commander must overcome organizational and operational problems simultaneously. When faced with a similar situation, each of the Services has opted for an organized, trained, and equipped combined arms headquarters. Not so for the Joint combined arms headquarters. This report covers the history and challenges of forming ad hoc combined headquarters and makes recommendations for a set of standing JTF headquarters and standing JTFs.