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Joint Force Enabler Conference focuses on rapid formation of joint task forces

Army Lt. Gen. Ken Keen delivered the keynote address at the Joint Force Enabler Conference, a three-day conference sponsored by U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Joint Enabling Capabilities Command.

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By Whitney Williams
Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, USJFCOM

(PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Sept. 1, 2010) –- The deputy commander of U.S. Southern Command talked about his recent experiences standing up Joint Task Force-Haiti (JTF-Haiti) during his keynote address to open U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Joint Force Enabler Conference here Tuesday.

Army Lt. Gen. Ken Keen mentioned how the many forms of support from the unified combatant commands (COCOM) assisted in the formation of the JTF in the wake of Haiti’s earthquake in January. The conference is sponsored by the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JECC).

“The two things from a strategic stand point that enhanced JTF-Haiti’s mission were first, the declaration of an unclassified operation so that we had the capability to share information with all the organizations involved; and second, the immediate declaration by the president that the U.S. Agency for International Development was the lead agency,” he explained.

Keen said the COCOMs and several joint enabling capabilities made it possible to establish the JTF quickly at a crucial time.

“Standing up the JTF was enabled by the combatant commands,” he said. “The expertise in everything from the communications teams to the Joint Interagency Information Center became extremely important and invaluable to have in Haiti.”

More than 100 representatives from the geographic COCOMs, designated JTF-capable headquarters, the services and coalition partners are attending the conference, which Navy Rear Adm. Walter E. Carter, JECC commander, said has four objectives:
• Learning what the geographic COCOMs’ current challenges are and how USJFCOM and the JECC can help
• Further expansion and development of relationships with coalition partners
• Establishment of a joint enabling community of interest
• Developing an understanding of what that community of interest sees as capability gaps

Carter provided opening remarks and spoke of the importance of bringing together senior representatives from these organizations.

“The relationships we strengthen and develop this week are absolutely crucial to building and determining the construct for how to stand up a joint task force completely, effectively and quickly,” he said.

Carter closed the evening with a synopsis of how Keen’s remarks apply to the focus of the conference.

“The observations we’ve heard this evening are invaluable and exactly on track for what we are trying to take away from this conference,” he said.

The three-day conference ends Thursday.