Joint Forces chief wants to re-brand command
U.S. Joint Force Command chief recommends “coalition” be added to the command’s name to reflect its significant partnership with non-U.S. entities.
The United States needs outside allies in its missions around the globe, and the name of the organization coordinating that collaboration should reflect that idea, according to Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, U.S. Joint Forces Command chief.
Mattis has recommended to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that “coalition” be added to the command’s name to reflect its significant partnership with non-U.S. entities, according to a Navy Times report.
“In alignment with our mission and consistent with the continued importance of partnership with multinational partners, request your approval to immediately pursue the renaming of U.S. Joint Forces Command to U.S. Joint and Coalition Forces Command,” the memo said, according to the Navy Times report. “This [proposed] name will better reflect the day-to-day reality of this non-geographically-oriented command and signify a command focused on more than internal U.S. priorities.”
“Going without joint efforts is obsolete. No nation on its own can keep its people safe,” Mattis said at the August LandWarNet conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
According to the report, Mattis said in a Dec. 22 memo to Gates that 34 senior officers from NATO as well as Asia Pacific, African and Middle Eastern nations are hosted by the Joint Forces Command, and an additional 90 officials from 48 countries “routinely collaborate” with the command.
Mattis also reportedly said that 10 other nations are negotiating similar relationships with the Joint Forces Command, “a clear indicator that nations recognize USJFCOM as a key forum where military collaboration with the United States can successfully occur,” Mattis said in the memo, per Navy Times.