Providing Complementary Effect: Roles and Responsibilities Between Theater and Higher Echelon Commands

As successful as the U.S. joint force has been in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs Capstone Concept for Joint Operations CCJO outlines the need for change to sustain this success in future warfare. One key area of change should be in the roles and relationships among flag officer headquarters. U.S. military, Alliance, and Coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are characterized by multiple command headquarters inside and outside the theaters of operation. This current situation is likely to be replicated in future conflicts. Ensuring that each echelon, and each headquarters, provides truly complementary effects is critical to future success. This paper recommends actions for those headquarters out of theater that, once adopted, can ensure that the joint force gains added value from those headquarters out of theater that are supporting the theater commander. The CCJOs precepts for future joint operations establish the framework for change, and an examination of the existing NATO and U.S. chains of command in Afghanistan establish a starting point for that change. Finally, the paper concludes with a series of recommendations to better focus the efforts of these multiple echelons of command.