Army - Kicking Tires On Jltv

U.S. Army/Sgt. Cheryl Cox
built, to allow for immediate and collaborative Mission Command
with Gulf Cooperation countries and long-standing allies
such as Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia
and France. This concept proved prescient in late spring 2014.
When the situation in Iraq reached crisis status in June
2014, the national command authority directed U.S. Central
Command to commence military operations against the Islamic
State group, known throughout the region as Daesh.
U.S. Army Central was designated the joint force land component
commander for operations in Iraq. Having matured
since the inception of the regional security plan in late 2011,
forces immediately available, including the robust theater architecture
established by the enabling commands, allowed for
rapid transition from Phase 0 focused activities.
The joint force provided its own contributions, including a
Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force, U.S. Naval
Forces Central Command’s Fleet Anti-Terrorism Response
Team and a special operations forces crisis-response element.
This combination of capabilities allowed the joint force land
component commander to move rapidly into Iraq with the appropriate
Mission Command, security and sustainment capabilities
to make initial assessments and provide assistance to
Iraqi security forces. The joint force land component commander
also had reach-back capability that included longrange
fires and myriad sustainment functions.
Challenges Expanded
As allies and partner nations communicated their desires to
contribute capabilities, U.S. Central Command designated the
joint force land component commander as the combined force
land component command on Sept. 17, 2014. This expanded
the number of challenges facing the headquarters as it had to
integrate coalition capabilities while simultaneously establishing
Mission Command system networks to support multinational
collaboration.
Recognizing that operations against Daesh required full
joint integration, U.S. Central Command further designated
the combined force land component command as a combined
joint task force (CJTF) on Oct. 17, 2014, and eventually settled
on the designation “CJTF-Operation Inherent Resolve.”
To staff the CJTF, the combined force land component command
staff developed and submitted completed joint staffing
documents.
The time frame from document submission until capability
was in place was anticipated at secretary of defense approval
plus 120 days. To mitigate this gap, U.S. Army Central was
able to work with the other U.S. Central Command service
components in theater—another Army service component
command standing relationship that proved vital—to assist
with joint fills until the respective service headquarters could
assess and fulfill their requirements. U.S. Army Central also
requested and received augmentation from the Joint Enabling
Capabilities Command and the Joint Intelligence Support Element,
which provided significant assistance with joint functions
and capabilities oversight.
Today, U.S. Army Central retains the designation of combined
force land component command for operations in the
joint operations area, while a corps headquarters serves as the
CJTF-Operation Inherent Resolve headquarters. From the
start of operations against Daesh until the deployment of III
Corps, 15 months had passed in which U.S. Army Central
served dual-hatted as a combined force land component command
and CJTF-Operation Inherent Resolve, while continuing
to accomplish its missions as an Army service component
command on behalf of the secretary of
the Army. No other command echelon
has the depth and versatility to simultaneously
perform these functions.
U.S. Army Central has served as the
land component command providing
Mission Command for land operations
in the U.S. Central Command area of
responsibility three times since 2001.
Based on this historical precedent as well
as lessons learned in recent contingency
operations in Iraq, the combatant commander
needs an immediately available
joint and coalition capability and the
theater-enabling capability inherent in
the Army service component command
to mitigate delays in responding to crises
and contingencies. The Army service
component command or theater Army,
embedded in the theater and with persistent
presence and enduring partnerships,
provides that capability. ✭
Pfc. Morgan Calebrese, an engineer with the
244th Engineer Battalion, teaches Iraqi soldiers
about the armored bulldozer.
February 2016 ■ ARMY 51