News From USJFCOM: Commander discusses disestablishment recommendation: "The commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), Gen. Ray Odierno, issued a statement and answered questions Jan. 10 about the recommendation to disestablish the command.
"We hope that the implementation plan will be finished within the next 30-to-45 days and approved, so we can begin execution. We have been working very carefully on this plan for several months now," Odierno said. "We've had good coordination with the Virginia delegation, led by the governor's office, Sen. (Mark) Warner, Sen. (Jim) Webb, Congressman (Randy) Forbes and many others that are involved in this."
Odierno added that the exchange of ideas and an open dialogue will continue with the delegation moving forward as changes are made, including various capabilities remaining but under other organizations.
"What we've done is attempted to find the core capabilities that should be left behind in Joint Forces Command, which I believe to be joint training, concept development, doctrine development and the role we play in providing forces for all the contingency missions around the world," he added, saying that he believed approximately 50 percent of the workforce in the Hampton Roads area will remain.
Odierno listed four major goals he had during the process, including to improve efficiency and effectiveness of all the critical functions that remain; maintain a strong collaboration with NATO's Allied Command Transformation and the multi-national partners in the Hampton Roads area; sustain joint advocacy and the progress made in jointness; and provide support to the workforce during transition.
Odierno stressed that setting up a program for the DoD civilians employed by USJFCOM to continue working with other government entities was a top priority moving forward. He praised the professionalism of the workforce during this process.
"I've been very impressed with how people have continued to do their jobs. We have such great expertise and capabilities here. It hasn't been brought to my attention specifically, (but) I know that the unknown is bothering people," he said. "That's why we want to get the decision on the implementation done so we can start informing people what is going to happen to them."
When the implementation plan is approved, he will be able to brief the workforce on what to expect and a more specific deadline. He stated that once approved, the disestablishment implementation should take between 12 and 15 months.
President Barack Obama approved Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' recommendation to disestablish USJFCOM on Jan. 6."
