JP 3-28, Civil Support - Federation of American Scientists

Chapter II
exercises and operations significantly enhance real-time information sharing and coordination activities
and improve CS related response capabilities.
(4) US military forces performing CS missions will work through the primary agency in
support of state, local, and tribal governments and agencies. Interagency cooperation and coordination
is essentially a USG construct, and state, local and tribal partners may be unfamiliar with its structure and
processes, or even constrained on how they can participate by their own laws, regulations, and/or
political direction. Commanders must exercise flexibility and ingenuity in order to achieve unity of effort
in this complex domestic environment.
d. The combatant command interagency process complements and supports the higher level or
strategic interagency process, and may involve such key elements as joint interagency coordination
groups (JIACGs); theater security cooperation programs, plans and initiatives; country team interaction
and coordination; and annex V (Interagency Coordination) to formal operation plans and CONPLANs;
all designed to enhance information sharing, effective joint and interagency planning, and maximize
coordinated operations.
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e. Elements for Interagency Coordination
(1) Joint Interagency Coordination Group. The JIACG is an interagency staff group
that establishes regular, timely, and collaborative working relationships between civilian and military
operational planners. Composed of USG civilian and military experts accredited to the CCDR and
tailored to meet the requirements of a supported CCDR, the JIACG provides the CCDR with the
capability to collaborate at the operational level with other USG civilian agencies and departments. It is
the CCDR’s primary interagency forum to share information, analyze ongoing activities, and anticipate
future interagency actions, implications, and/or consequences.
(2) Agency Representatives and Command Representatives. Subject matter experts
(SMEs) and LNOs from key partner agencies and commands facilitate effective two-way
communication, coordination, and cooperation. A formally established liaison and representative
link between the combatant command and the partner agency is beneficial to both organizations. Specific
focus should be on agency or command LNOs whose organizations play a key part in successful and
seamless execution of CS operations. Regardless of mission, having key partner agency and command
representatives will be essential for the CCDR conducting operations on US territory. Equally important,
combatant commands may locate a command representative or LNO at key partner agencies
commensurate with their operational requirements. Agency representatives or command LNOs are
more effective when they have access to command leadership, key staff, and key working groups.
“On-the-ground” agency representatives and command LNOs located at a combatant command should
typically be located where they will be most usefully engaged, supportive of command activities, and
beneficial to their parent agency or command. However, they also need to have an ongoing interface
with the combatant command JIACG. This maximizes their participation in and support of the interagency
process and benefit to their particular agency or combatant command.
JP 3-28