The new Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JECC) was officially designated Oct. 1, bringing four U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) organizations together under Marine Brig. Gen. William Beydler to create a new command to deliver specialized support and training to commanders around the world more effectively while also identifying and developing new capabilities.
The new command will be at JFCOM’s Joint Warfighting Center (JWFC) in Suffolk, Va.
The organizations in the new command include the Standing Joint Force Headquarters (SJFHQ) led by Beydler, the Joint Public Affairs Support Element (JPASE), the Intelligence Quick Reaction Team(I-QRT) and the Joint Communication Support Element (JCSE).
“The vision of the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command is to ensure that our joint task force commanders that stand-up have what they need to be able to get plans and operations rapidly after they are assigned a mission,” Beydler said in a statement. “We bring the ability upon arrival to operate as a team and enhance linkages that were developed in habitual training relationships prior to the operational event.”
Long term JFCOM analysis of how the SJFHQ deployed over the years led to the new command with its dual operational deployment and training focus.
Since 2005, JFCOM joint enabling capabilities, or JECs, have rapidly provided forward support to commanders around the world.
SJFHQ core elements deployed more than 15 times to assist joint task force commanders in establishing new headquarters and in support of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
JCSE deployed numerous times to provide command, control, communications and computer support to joint task forces and joint special operations task forces around the world. The organization currently has more than 100 people deployed around the globe.
JPASE deployed media and communications professionals in support of Hurricanes Gustav, Ike, Katrina and Rita, Pakistan earthquake relief operations, American citizen evacuation of Lebanon, President Gerald Ford’s funeral and Operation Burnt Frost’s satellite shootdown mission.
The I-QRT successfully coordinated the efforts of joint and service training teams and supported the rapid development, delivery and assessment of timely intelligence training to hundreds of personnel assigned to Multi-National Forces-Iraq, Multi-National Corps-Iraq and those preparing to deploy to Iraq.
Currently, 90 members from all four JECs are deployed in the Al Anbar province of Iraq comprising Task Force Ramadi.
The addition of the public affairs, communications and intelligence units delivers a command with the capabilities a joint task force commander needs to respond immediately to any crisis worldwide.
“What the JECs do is provide those capabilities that most joint task force commanders would need to operate rapidly at the joint task force level,” Beydler said. “They are typically operations and plans officers that can think jointly, operate jointly and plan jointly. Our JECs are something that joint task force commanders needed over time that they could not get at the service level or global combatant command level.”
When deploying to support global operations, the JECC commander will report directly to JFCOM’s commander to provide forces and capabilities.
As part of the reorganization, Beydler will also serve as the deputy director for joint training assisting JWFC Commander and Director for Joint Training Army Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya with the overall JWFC efforts to train and prepare joint warfighters for worldwide contingencies. JECC’s creation also gives USJFCOM the ability to identify and develop new JECs more effectively by tracking trends and lessons that emerge as capability gaps during deployments.
“We will continue to develop those other capabilities that are not otherwise readily available to joint task force commanders and we will be the single point of contact and the single ‘one stop shop’ for those capabilities that most joint task force commanders will need quickly,” Beydler said.