News

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – 2012 proved to be another exceptional year for the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, which maintained an increasingly high operational tempo and continued to meet the needs of joint force commanders worldwide. The year was marked by unique real-world deployments, enduring training to sustain mission-critical skill sets and readiness and an influx of new leaders who have postured the JECC for the future.

JECC Deployment Highlights

The success of the JECC is measured by the command’s ability to immediately respond to joint force requirements. For instance, in November 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive power outages and widespread damage to New York and New Jersey. Within hours of notification, the JECC deployed 16 members from across the command’s subordinate elements – the Joint Public Affairs Support Element, the Joint Communications Support Element and the Joint Planning Support Element – to respond to this crisis.  The team provided joint public affairs, communications and planning expertise for a U.S. Northern Command-led Defense Support of Civil Authorities mission to assist local and state authorities with disaster relief operations.

Ten JCSE members provided the proper communication assets to teams executing infrastructure recovery and clean-up efforts. Additionally, four JPASE personnel moved between Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Joint Information Bureau, located in Brooklyn, N.Y., to provide active PA support and conduct daily and on-call PA Synchronization Teleconference meetings to effectively coordinate PA activities for DOD forces supporting the relief efforts. Lastly, two JPSE members were integrated within Joint Task Force Sandy at Camp Smith, N.Y. and provided joint planning expertise to streamline efforts in preparation for redeploying over 800 active duty personnel, equipment and resources from six different sites back to home station following mission completion.

During another significant deployment in 2012, seven JCSE members supported Pacific Partnership 2012, a four-month humanitarian assistance mission in the Asia-Pacific region. While traveling to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, the JCSE personnel provided mobile ship-to-shore communications to the PP12 medical, surgical, dental, veterinarian and engineering teams. This unique deployment gave JCSE members an opportunity to expand their communications skills in a joint environment while supporting a mission focused on building partnerships and improving the quality of life for people in the Asia-Pacific region.

Over the course of 2012, the JECC also deployed numerous JPSE teams to several combatant commands to provide joint planning expertise for headquarters and component command-level missions. JPSE teams supported U.S. European Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Central Command by providing doctrinal guidance and joint planning expertise for each staff. JPSE’s fluent knowledge of critical planning assisted the headquarters and components in the development of operational plans, course of action briefs and theater-level plans for standing contingency operations.  Their direct support was a key factor in achieving current objectives and setting conditions for the success of future operations. 

The strong relationships that were cultivated following deployments such as these ultimately enhanced the JECC’s ability to seamlessly integrate within a joint force headquarters and immediately contribute to the mission at hand. 

Preparing the force

The command’s frequent involvement in various training events offers exposure to a multitude of real-world scenarios and provides verification that JECC forces are ready to deploy and deliver valuable, high demand capabilities worldwide.

In 2012, the JECC supported numerous CCMD-level exercises to increase the JECC’s awareness and understanding of how day-to-day operations and planning efforts vary from one CCMD to another. The JECC’s visible presence during CCMD-led exercises reinforces trust-based relationships with potential mission partners and also builds a mutual understanding of how to coordinate the JECC capabilities offered in response to emergent operations. This diverse training experience expedites efforts to seamlessly integrate with the staff in support of similar missions in the future.

This year, the JECC also initiated an internal exercise program to further enhance the employability and deployability of its personnel. Quarterly Mission Readiness Exercises were established to ensure the Ready JECC Package - an alert-postured, mission-tailored team pulled from each subordinate command - maintains the highest level of readiness for emerging requirements. By executing a variety of realistic training scenarios during each MRX, JECC members strengthen their specific skill sets and build comprehension of crisis action planning to further expedite efforts within a JTF. Simultaneously, each iteration also provides an opportunity for the JECC to regularly validate and closely assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the current deployment processes.

Participation in both CCMD and internal training events ensures these highly-trained mission-tailored JECC teams are fully prepared to fill potential capability gaps and reiterates the JECC mission to rapidly deploy its capabilities to emergent operational requirements across the full range of military operations.

JECC welcomes new cadre of leaders

Equally important to maintaining the JECC force are the leaders that prepare the command for the future. In 2012, the JECC headquarters welcomed a new Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Col. Pharisse Berry; a J3 Operations Director, U.S. Air Force Col. Jeffrey Vandenbussche; and a Senior Enlisted Leader, U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Lemuel Brock, who is also dual-hatted as the JCSE SEL.    

Additionally, the JECC welcomed new commanders for each of its subordinate joint commands: U.S. Army Col. Kirby Watson for JCSE, U.S. Air Force Col. Tim Sundvall for JPSE and U.S. Navy Capt. Jeff Breslau for JPASE.

The new leadership brings a fresh perspective to current processes and offers insight on innovative ways to further prepare the JECC force and posture the command for increasing success. While the JECC is eager to draw on the vast experience of its current leadership to propel the command to the next level,    the command remains fully committed to its top priority of fulfilling CCMD emergent operational requirements.

The JECC had a remarkable year after successfully supporting several real-world deployments, participating in a full spectrum of training opportunities and welcoming new leadership to the command. 2012 has equipped the JECC to become increasingly mission-driven, operationally ready and truly focused on efficiently and effectively supporting the joint warfighter. The JECC remains at the forefront of joint operational requirements and confidently looks forward to the new challenges and opportunities the command may face in 2013.