The FA: leading joint interdependency with JACI.

America is heavily engaged in a Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). We face an extended conflict against an irreconcilable and adaptive enemy. At the same time, we are changing how the US armed services conduct business.

This demands an unprecedented degree of joint cooperation. All services must move beyond joint interoperability (the assurance that service capabilities can work together smoothly), even beyond joint integration (collective efficiency and tempo). To gain the right force structure mix--one that is capable of meeting the breadth, depth and longevity of the challenges throughout the range of military operations--the services and defense agencies must achieve joint interdependence.

This article describes the joint and Combined Integration Directorate (JACI) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and what JACI has been doing to achieve joint interdependency since it was founded two years ago.

JACI's Charter, Programs and Organization. With the current emphasis on joint operations and joint fires and effects, Fort Sill needed an office to synchronize activities to avoid duplication, generate cross-talk and ensure everyone is working on common goals.

JACI was established as part of the Training and Doctrine Command's (TRADOC's) reorganization. As TRADOC's training center for joint fires and effects, it was logical for Fort Sill to teach the command and staff skills required to integrate, coordinate and synchronize the application of the full range of joint fires and effects at Fort Sill. JACI serves as an Army hub for joint command and control ([C.sup.2]) developments and issues and is an active participant in joint doctrine development and materiel issues.

This new Fires Center of Excellence directorate is the commanding general's primary staff proponent for all joint fires and effects-related issues, including the development, integration and execution of all joint instruction, training and doctrine at the Field Artillery School and Fort Sill. See Figure 1.

JACI prepares, reviews and coordinates all joint issues with the joint staff; component commands; Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA); Forces Command (FORSCOM); TRA-DOC; and the installation staff. JACI also established, teaches and manages the Joint Operational Fires and Effects Course (JOFEC) and Joint Fires Observer Course (JFOC). The directorate provides Air Force participation for joint training exercises and coordinates live air support activities for Fort Sill.

In addition, JACI serves as the proponent for the battlefield coordination detachments (BCDs) and coordinates Fort Sill's foreign liaison officers (LNOs) activities. The LNOs at Fort Sill from France, Korea, Germany, Canada and United Kingdom share their expertise with the FA School.

JACI consists of key individuals from all the services and branches to help develop-joint training, review joint doctrine and provide the instructor base for the joint training on Fort Sill. It continuously works warfighter issues with the Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team (JFIIT) at Eglin AFB, Florida, and the Joint Air-Ground Office (JAGO) at TRADOC. For joint issues, JFIIT is the main point of contact for Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), Norfolk, Virginia, and JAGO is the main point of contact for TRADOC.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

JACI's Joint Training Programs. JACI has instituted a number of training programs for not only Field Artillerymen training at Fort Sill, but also personnel from all four services and others who work with joint fires and effects.

JOFEC. This course provides instruction to joint fires and effects team members above the brigade level from all services, Coalition Forces and inter-agencies. The course covers the skills and processes to apply and integrate the full range of joint lethal and non-lethal fires and effects in current and modular formations. See Figure 2 on Page 12 for an outline of the course's content.

Each student gains baseline knowledge of joint and service sensors, capabilities, platforms and battlespace management; the joint targeting process; and joint fires and effects system. JOFEC prepares students for the effects-based approach to warfighting. The students' knowledge is exercised and validated during a culminating exercise conducted in an immersive simulation environment where they apply and integrate joint lethal and non-lethal fires and effects.

Before JOFEC was initiated in September 2004, no single service school trained joint personnel on fires and effects above the brigade level. So Fort Sill developed JOFEC and has taught seven, two-week courses to date.

JOFEC focuses on operational-level fires and effects with emphasis on lethal and non-lethal fires and effects, information operations (10) and space- and effects-based operations. Recent innovations include counterinsurgency (COIN) and coalition issues (foreign LNOs) as topics for current issues panel discussions.

Students from the Warrant Officer Advanced Course (WOAC) for 131A Targeting Officers attend the two-week JOFEC as part of their WOAC requirements. JOFEC helps prepare them to work as targeting officers at the operational level.

Human Resources Command (HRC) assigns the professional development skill identifier (PDSI) D9B to Army JOFEC graduates. The course is listed in the JFCOM joint schools catalog.

To date we have taught more than 190 students in JOFEC who are from all services, including from the Reserves and National Guard. In FY07, the number of JOFECs per year will increase from the current four classes to five per year with the number increasing to eight classes per year in FY08.

JFOC. The November 2005 memorandum of agreement (MOA) among the Army and Air Force and Special Operations Command (SOC) formalized the 2005 Joint CAS (JCAS) Action Plan developed by the Joint Close Air Support (JCAS) Executive Steering Committee (ESC). The ESC was chartered by the Joint Review Oversight Council (JROC). The plan includes a recommendation for Issue 16 that states the requirements to standardize the title, responsibilities and qualifications of JFOs among the services. The recommendation provides training for forward observers (FOs), reconnaissance Marines and special operations personnel to better prepare them to execute terminal guidance operations (TGOs) as JFOs.

A JFO is a service member trained to request, adjust and control surface-to-surface fires, provide targeting information in support of Types 2 and 3 CAS terminal attack controls and perform autonomous TGOs. An Army JFO's surface-to-surface capability includes the ability to request, adjust and control naval surface fire support.

Joint Publication (JP) 1-02 DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, JP 3-09 Doctrine for Joint Fire Support, JP 3-09.3 Joint Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) for Close Air Support and service publications will include the JFO definition, as updated.

The recommendation to resolve Issue 16 of the 2005 JCAS Action Plan includes four actions designed to standardize JFO training throughout the services: (1) Standardize the title and develop a joint definition for the position, (2) develop a joint individual standard and syllabus for training, (3) develop joint TTPs and update service manuals (as appropriate) and (4) establish a standard minimum equipment capability. Completing these actions will improve joint force interdependence and reduce the potential for mishaps and fratricides.

The November 2005 MOA established a JFO joint mission task list (JMTL) for services to develop initial and continuing JFO training programs. See Figure 3 for the JMTL.

The JFO training program emphasizes joint collaboration and the need for JFOs and JTACs to train together, as resources allow. Units are encouraged to send their JFOs with their respective JTACs to the course. The Army JFO requirement is one per maneuver platoon for a total of approximately 3,200 JFOs.

To date, JACI has trained more than 120 JFOs from all services. Seventeen classes are scheduled for FY07 and 20 for FY08 and beyond, each with 25 students per class. By the end of FY08, Fort Sill will have trained more than 900 JFOs. JFOs also are trained by the Army Joint Support Team, 6th Combat Training Squadron, at Nellis AFB, Nevada, at a rate of about 100 JFOs per year.

Fort Sill has purchased two Rover III systems for JTACs to interface with their respective JFOs and the aircraft during training. Rover III provides a real-time, full-motion video feed from the aircraft for ground situational awareness, targeting, bomb damage assessment, surveillance, convoy operations and other situations where "eyes on target" are required. Rover III also provides enhanced air-to-ground coordination, which shortens "talk-ons" for targets in time-critical operations. Rover III is interoperable with data links in L-Band, C-Band and Ku-Band with Predator, Shadow, Dragon Eye, Litening Pod and other joint and coalition platforms.

The JFO course also includes a day of familiarization and hands-on training with Precision Strike Suite for Special Operation Forces (PSS-SOF) software. This software provides a three-dimensional "picture" of the target's location that is accurate enough to employ precision-guided munitions (PGMs).

To help with the instruction and certification of the JFO course, JACI has the only two Department of the Army civilian JTAC instructors in the joint services.

Air Force Detachment and Live CAS Training. JACI has been working closely with the Air Force to assign an Air War-fare Center (AWFC) detachment and personnel from the 6th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis AFB to Fort Sill to coordinate for live CAS and provide air training. Currently, four active duty AF personnel are assigned. Additionally, there are five officers from the Oklahoma Air National Guard (OKANG) assigned, a number that may increase in the future due to the OKANG's interest in the joint and combined programs to develop its officers and NCOs.

This past spring, Fort Sill reinstated live CAS and Air Force procedures familiarization and training for all officer, warrant officer and NCO courses. Live CAS training is now routine for the Basic Officer Leader's Courses (BOLC) II and III and is expanding into all aspects of Fort Sill's institutional training.

JACI also is working to integrate Army and Air Force training at the Air Force's 13,000-acre Falcon Joint Precision Engagement Range on Fort Sill (part of Quanah Range). The Air Force developed the range for its aircraft to drop live ordnance. Integrated Army and Air Force training on this range will allow for a full-spectrum of target types and engagement options.

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Electronic Attack (EA) Training. TRA-DOC is revitalizing the Army's electronic warfare (EW) capabilities. As a core 10 element, EW has three components: EW support (ES), EA and electronic protect (EP).

The Combined Arms Command (CAC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is the overall proponent for EW and is considering courses-of-action (COAs) to realign the EW components. As part of the reorganization, CAC has directed Fort Sill develop a course for EA and incorporate EA into instruction at the FA School.

A deployed headquarters also will be able to request EA training for its Soldiers who must integrate and synchronize EW assets. These are Soldiers who will serve as subject matter experts (SMEs) on the combat ready early warning system (CREWS) family of systems for their brigade combat teams (BCTs) and higher units. Their skills will be critical in defeating the enemy's improvised explosive devices (IEDe).

Currently the Navy is filling the EW capabilities gap. However, there is a mismatch between the Navy training and the skills the Army requires. The Army determined that the best COA would be to begin training Army personnel in the required skills.

Each EA class will consist of approximately 30 Army and 10 joint EW officers. Graduates will be tracked with a PDSI. The pilot EA course is projected to begin in October of this year.

Modularity force structure plays a key role in defining doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel and facilities (DOTMLPF) for EA. The Army now has requirements for EA at the corps level and below--new requirements per modularity.

If readers want more information on course dates and how to attend the courses, they can visit the JACI website at http://sill-www.army.mil/jcid/.

Joint is the way we fight. And joint fires and effects training, tactical IO operations and EA above the brigade align well with Fort Sill's mission and vision as the Army's joint fires and effects integration center--the Army's branch leading joint interdependency.

Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3) (Retired) Christopher A. Saindon is the Deputy Director for the Joint and Combined Integration Directorate (JACI) and a charter member of JACI, which was established in 2004 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He is/has been a member of many joint working groups, including the Military Targeting Committee (MTC) and Joint Targeting Automation Steering Group (JTASG), sponsored by the J2 (Targeting) of the Joint Staff; Joint Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (JUAV) Working Group and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Working Group, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and the Naval Afloat Targeting Integrated Process Team (NAT-IPT), sponsored by Navy Intelligence and Operations. He served 24 years in the Army.

By Chief Warrant Officer Three (Retired) Christopher A. Saindon

Day 1
Joint Doctrine and Strategy
JOPES Intro (Joint Operations and Force Integration)
JOPES Deliberate Planning
JOPES Crisis Action Planning
Joint Targeting Cycle

Day 2
Objectives Guidance and Intent
Effects-Based Operations
Objectives Guidance and Intent Practical Exercise (PE)

Day 3
TAGS
BCD Liaison
TAGS PE
Joint IPB
Law of Armed Conflict and ROE

Day 4
Space-Based Operations
Information Operations
National-Level Support to Targeting

Day 5
[C.sup.4]I for Joint Operations
Target Development, Vetting, Validation and Nomination
Target Development, Vetting, Validation and Nomination PE

Day 6
Air-Ground Weaponeering
Air-Ground Fuzing Options
Surface-to-Surface Systems and Munitions
Precision versus Accuracy
Collateral Damage

Day 7
Joint Air Tasking Cycle
ASR and CAS Planning
Airspace Command and Control
Joint Fires Element
Joint Fires Element
Targeting Coordination Board
High-Value Individuals (Targeting)
Time-Sensitive Targeting

Day 8
Counterinsurgency
Combat Assessment
Joint Targeting Working Group PE

Day 9
JADOCS Overview and Lab

Day 10
Test/Test Review
ATO Seminar
Current Issues (GARS)

Day 11
Coalition Conference
After-Action Review and Critique

Legend:
ASR = Air Support Request
ATO = Air Tasking Order
BCD = Battlefield Coordination Detachment
CAS = Close Air Support
[C.sup.4]I = Command, Control, Communications, Computers and
Intelligence
GARS = Global Area Reference System
IPB = Information Preparation of the Battlefield
JADOCS = Joint Automated Deep Operations Coordination System
JOPES = Joint Operations Planning and Execution System
ROE = Rules of Engagement
TAGS = Theater Air-Ground System

Figure 2: Joint Operational Fires and Effects Course (JOFEC)

1. Engage targets with ground surface-to-surface fires.
2. Engage targets with naval surface fires.
3. Engage targets with air-to-ground fires.
4. Conduct terminal guidance operations.

Figure 3: The 2005 memorandum of agreement (MOA) among the Army, Air
Force and Special Operations Command established the joint forward
observer's (JFO's) joint mission task list (JMTL).