US military releases “Capstone Concept” for Joint Operations

USJFCOM will test the Capstone concept in a series of experiments this year, Davenport said.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently released a document U.S. Joint Forces Command helped prepare which will help drive future joint solutions.

The national security challenges addressed in the CCJO include responding to civil crises.

USJFCOM | Jan 23, 2009

Capstone Concept for Joint Operations released

By USJFCOM Public Affairs

(NORFOLK, Va. – Jan. 23, 2009) — A recently signed document will help drive future joint solutions and guide future work at the U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) according to command officials.

USJFCOM assisted in the preparation of the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations (CCJO) which was signed by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) Navy Adm. Mike Mullen Jan. 22.

Representatives from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard as well as U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Strategic Command also assisted in the CCJO development.

The CCJO describes the chairman’s vision for how the joint forces circa 2016-2028 will operate in response to a wide variety of security challenges.

According to command leaders, the CCJO will drive joint solutions today and in the future.

“The CCJO discusses broad national security challenges that likely will require the employment of the joint forces,” said Navy Rear Adm. Dan W. Davenport, director, joint concept development & experimentation for USJFCOM. “We’ll use this document to guide the study, development, experimentation and evaluation of joint concepts and capabilities.”

The national security challenges addressed in the CCJO include: winning the nation’s wars; deterring potential adversaries; developing cooperative security; defending the homeland; and responding to civil crises.

These challenges form the context for exploring how the joint force will operate in the future. The CCJO states that, “Above all, joint forces in the future will need to be able to apply combat power in more varied, measured and discriminate ways than ever before.”

CCJO describes the operational art of employing the future joint force as the arranging and balancing of operations to meet the specific situation, with continuous assessment and adaptation as needed to produce the desired results.

Davenport provided an example of how the CCJO will be used to guide USJFCOM work.

“The CCJO makes the case that future U.S. forces must be powerful, balanced, adaptable and versatile to cope with the uncertainty, complexity, unforeseeable change and persistent conflict that will characterize the future operating environment. At USJFCOM, we must continually examine the operating environment and improve our ability to provide forces in a careful and considered manner.”

USJFCOM will test the concept in a series of experiments this year, Davenport said. Planners will use the results of these experiments to inform the next Quadrennial Defense Review.

USJFCOM also participated in the CCJO through work on the related Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008). The JOE identifies the nature of the world in which the future joint force will operate and provides much of the strategic context for the CCJO.

Copies of the CCJO and JOE 2008 have been distributed to senior leaders throughout the national security community.