Joint Task Force Somalia, A Case Study

Abstract

Since 1983, the United States Armed Forces have been involved in 33 Joint Task Forces (JTF). The scope of these JTF's have varied from Noncombatant Evacuation and Relief (disaster and humanitarian) operations to Environmental Cleanup operations. Joint Task Force Somalia provides a unique opportunity to review one of the key components of a JTF:- command and control. The fundamental challenge facing JTF command elements is achieving unity of effort among diverse service forces in a relatively short period of time. The presence of an effective command and control structure established for Joint Task Force Somalia appeared to be clear and straight forward. However, the command relationships were not as clear as the authors may have thought. In the end, it was professionalism and dedication to duty that got the mission accomplished. While these are time honored traits of U.S. military personnel, these traits should not be continually relied upon as work arounds for problems where solutions do exist. A solution is the designation of a service organization as the nucleus of a JTF.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 17, 1994
Accession Number
ADA283478

Entities

People

  • Leslie L. Ratliff

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Communication Equipment
  • Deployment
  • Employment
  • Force Protection
  • Logistics Support
  • Materials
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Security
  • Task Forces
  • Training
  • United Nations
  • United States Central Command
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control