officials cut the ribbon on a new building that will streamline the
deployment process for the commands' personnel at Norfolk Naval Base
(Virginia) today.
Air Force Maj. Gen. David Edgington, USJFCOM chief of staff, and Navy
Rear Adm. Gerald Beaman, FFC Global Force Management and Joint
Operations deputy chief of staff, along with gathered military and
civilian personnel, opened the Joint Deployment Center (JDC) and
Maritime Operations Center (MOC).
Sharing the facility was the most cost-efficient and operationally
effective option for the two commands, said USJFCOM Deputy Chief of
Staff Marine Corps Col Gary Kling in a memo. The combined facility
improves connectivity between USJFCOM and USFFC and improves the state
of deployment resources.
"This is very exciting for us to bring to culmination, the opening of
this building behind us," Edgington said. "We've gotten a service
command, Fleet Forces Command, and the Joint Forces Command, a joint
command, which live on the same installation, to collaborate, to fund
and to see through to completion a single building for a dual, but
combined purpose.
"That is not something insignificant in today's military," he added.
Retired Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., who commanded USJFCOM
from October 2002 to August 2005, spoke about the combined facility's
importance at the ceremony.
"It's very important to have this (facility)," said Giambastiani, who
retired in 2007 as the seventh vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. "This new facility and its attendant automation and
connectivity will greatly assist Joint Forces Command and the
components, in my view, in further improving its effectiveness and
transparency amongst all these different staffs."
All deploying USJFCOM personnel will report to the JDC and complete
necessary training and preparations prior to leaving the U.S.
According to Beaman, there are eight MOCs across the globe forming a
valuable interface for the integration of maritime forces in any
theatre. Together, these MOCs provide total global maritime awareness.
This facility will help optimize maritime forces, streamlining them to
where they can best be served.
"What you see in front of you today is a vast improvement over the
previously used space. This is a state-of-the-art technological
facility from which we are able to direct maritime operations and
collaborate with our joint interagency and multinational partners,"
Beaman said.
The facility covers 49,000 square feet and has a state-of-the-art data,
communication and audio-visual collaborative network supported by more
than 110 miles of cable. A centralized server and secured hard drives
eliminate the need for desktop personal computers, optimizing work
space and network security. It contains a conference center,
operational areas and a crisis response center.
The facility is flexible to accommodate future mission requirements and
demands, including furniture designed to be reconfigurable.
Josh LeCapellain
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