Joint Staff Officers Guide AFSC Pub 1 -- 1997

AFSC Pub 1

The mission of the Armed Forces Staff College (AFSC) is to prepare mid-career and senior officers for joint and combined duty. AFSC Pub 1 is an even more important document now that joint professional military education is a shared responsibility, with Phase I taught at the Service schools and Phase II taught at AFSC. AFSC Pub 1 is the basic textbook at the college and the single most important document we use to carry out our mission. Several other colleges and institutions have adopted Pub 1 for their curricula, and it has become a prominent reference book for operators and planners throughout the joint community. AFSC Pub 1 is also available in the Joint Electronic Library, accessible through desktop computers.

Pub 1 is a unique document. It offers a perspective on joint planning and execution that is not found elsewhere. It presents the "big picture" of the players, the process, and the procedures, synthesizing elements from a wide range of sources, presenting them in a systematic manner. No other single publication so completely treats the subject of "jointness."

Because Pub 1 is derived from many sources, official and unofficial, AFSC has no monopoly on its contents. The process of joint planning is dynamic, so Pub 1 must be dynamic. This edition reflects the adaptive planning concepts evolving as our new National Military Strategy adjusts to the post-cold-war environment and the inherent uncertainties and instabilities of a rapidly changing world. To keep it useful and current, however, we depend on input from the experts? the users of this book? who labor every day to solve the problems of joint planning in the "real world." Therefore, we solicit not only official comments from your commands, but also unofficial comments from you, the reader/user.

AFSC’s motto "That all may labor as one" is probably more relevant today than at any other time in our recent history. The challenges that face our nation during current budget realities, force reductions, and stringent review of our basic Service roles and missions require military leaders who understand fully the complexities of joint warfare. Our goal is to support the needs of the combatant commanders and their staffs during these very challenging times.

William R. Looney III

Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force

Commandant

The National Defense University (NDU) was established by the Department of Defense on 16 January 1976. The four institutions of NDU, the National War College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the Information Resources Management College (colocated at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.), and the Armed Forces Staff College (Norfolk, Virginia), along with the Institutes for National Strategic Studies and Higher Defense Studies, ensure excellence in professional military education and research for national security. The university was created in response to recommendations made by the DOD Committee on Excellence in Education, and is the senior joint educational institution operating under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since two senior Service colleges were located on the same post, the committee realized that close affiliation of the two institutions would reduce administrative costs, streamline duplicated functions, permit better use of people and resources, and promote constructive dialogue benefiting both colleges. This affiliation enabled students from each college to enroll in elective courses taught at both schools, and to share in other educational opportunities not possible in the past. It also permitted use of faculty expertise in both colleges for the benefit of all university students. On 12 August 1981, the Armed Forces Staff College was also brought under NDU with the same objectives in mind.

The National War College (NWC), one major component of the National Defense University, is a unique military education institution. The National War College conducts a senior-level course of study in national security strategy to prepare selected military officers and federal officials for high-level policy, command, and staff responsibilities. The National War College focuses on national security policy and strategy and emphasizes a joint and interagency perspective. Reflecting this emphasis, the student body is composed of equal representation from the land, sea (including Marine and Coast Guard), and air Services, with the remaining quarter of the class drawn from the various civilian federal departments and agencies.

The Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) is a major component of the National Defense University. It is the only senior Service college dedicated to the study of management of resources for national security. The ICAF mission is to prepare selected military officers and civilians for senior leadership and staff positions by conducting postgraduate, executive-level courses of study and associated research dealing with the resource component of national power, with special emphasis on materiel acquisition, and its integration into national security strategy for peace and war. ICAF furnishes the senior course for the acquisition work force.

The Information Resources Management College (IRMC) is the capstone institution for Defense IRM education. As such, it offers graduate-level courses in information resources management. The college prepares senior Department of Defense officials for joint management of the information resource component of national power and its integration with, and support to, national strategy.

The Armed Forces Staff College (AFSC) was established on 13 August 1946 as a joint educational institution operating under the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The college is composed of three schools, the Joint and Combined Staff Officer School (JCSOS), Joint and Combined Warfighting School (JCWS), and the Joint Command, Control, and Information Warfare School (JCIWS). The JCSOS and JCWS offer PJE Phase II education for Joint Specialty Officer nominees. The JCSOS and JCWS focus on joint and combined operations planning (integration of air, land, and naval forces) with emphasis on strategic deployment, joint employment, sustainment, and the synchronization of forces. The curriculum is designed to promote a spirit of cooperation and understanding that is critical to joint and combined warfighting. The JCIWS deals with facets of command and control communications, operations, and countermeasures, and with information warfare.

History

In the 1930s few officers were qualified to engage in joint or combined operations. The demands of World War II highlighted the shortfall of not having trained officers who could easily plan for joint and combined actions by ground, sea, and air forces. To overcome this shortfall and to alleviate the friction and misunderstanding resulting from lack of joint experience, the Joint Chiefs of Staff established an Army-Navy Staff College (ANSCOL) in 1943. ANSCOL conducted four-month courses to train officers for joint command and staff duties.

In the mid-1940s a joint military committee prepared a directive for a new school. This directive was approved on 28 June 1946 and established the Armed Forces Staff College (AFSC) as the primary military institution to train officers assigned to joint and combined duty. Responsibility for the operation and maintenance of its facilities was charged to the Chief of Naval Operations. Following a temporary residence in Washington, D.C., AFSC was established in Norfolk, Virginia, on 13 August 1946 on the site of a former U.S. Naval Receiving Station. The faculty was composed of officers with joint experience in all theaters of World War II. There were 150 students in the first class, which began on 3 February 1947. AFSC conducted two classes of about six months’ duration each year.

AFSC began a period of growth in size and prominence. Classes were expanded to include civilian students from DOD agencies and officers from allied nations to further promote the joint and combined experience. With the construction of Normandy Hall in 1962, the college completed its transition from a temporary to a permanent institution. AFSC became part of the National Defense University on 12 August 1981.

In 1978 AFSC assumed responsibility for teaching the Joint Command, Control, and Communications Staff and Operations Course, and the formation of two schools within the college began. The Joint and Combined Staff Officer School (JCSOS) accommodated the original charter of the college, while the Joint Command, Control, and Electronic Warfare School (JCEWS) accepted responsibility for this additional course plus two more: the Joint Electronic Warfare Staff Officer Course in 1982 and the Joint Command, Control, and Communications Countermeasures Staff Officer Course in 1989.

Until 1990 the AFSC JCSOS continued to graduate two classes of about six months’ duration each year. In July 1990 the school adjusted its program to comply with Congressional requirements for joint professional military education and began a two-level curriculum to furnish Phase II joint education for Joint Specialty Officer nominees. Intermediate-level officers completed a nine-week course and interacted with those in an associated five-week course for senior-level officers. In the summer of 1991 the 9-week intermediate program was expanded to 12 weeks, and decoupled from the 5-week senior program. In 1994, the senior program expanded from 5 to 12 weeks.

The Armed Forces Staff College (AFSC) is a selectively manned, joint professional military educational institution that educates staff officers and other leaders in joint operational planning and warfighting in order to instill a primary commitment to joint and combined teamwork, attitudes, and perspectives.

The red of the shield symbolizes the Army, the silver the Air Force, and the blue the Navy. The nebuly lines link the three military departments into an inseparable whole. The torch is a symbol of leadership showing the way; the book is a symbol of scholastic work; the wreath represents achievement. The scarlet circle bearing the name of the college is symbolic of a sword belt, indicating that only officer personnel attend the college.

AFSC Pub 1 is the primary AFSC textbook. Pub 1 brings together official procedures and adds necessary details in explaining the complex process of joint planning. It serves as a compendium of guidance from many sources, including Joint Publications, Service publications, technical reports, and person-to-person reports received from staff officers working in the field. To further assist the reader, Pub 1 cites authoritative sources as needed.

There are many changes in this revision of Pub 1. Procedures, terminology, and even the organization of the Joint Panning and Execution Community continue to change, so we must keep pace to remain effective staff officers and planners. It is impossible to keep the material in this publication current without information from those of you who read and use it. Please mail suggestions for improvements, changes, or corrections to

NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY

ARMED FORCES STAFF COLLEGE

Joint and Combined Staff Officer School

ATTN: Pub 1 Coordinating Editor

7800 Hampton Boulevard

Norfolk, Virginia 23511-1702

REQUESTS FOR COPIES. Pub 1 is distributed to resident students of the Joint and Combined Staff Officer School, the JPME Phase II Senior Course, and the Joint Command, Control, and Information Warfare School; attendees at the Joint Planning Orientation Course; the Joint Staff; the military Service headquarters; the unified commands and their Service component commands; the specified commands; the subordinate unified commands; and the National Defense University. Many commands and agencies have elected to attach their needs to the initial AFSC contract. Other commands, agencies, schools, and individuals may purchase copies of Pub 1 through the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 20402.

The efforts of many fine professionals produced this edition of AFSC Pub 1. I wish

especially to commend the following:

Consultants:

LtCol Jack P. Carter, Jr., USMC

LTC Roger A. Fraites, USA

LtCol Robert C. Griffin, USMC

Lt Col Norma H. Holland, USAF

CDR John C. Mickey, USN

Lt Col Lonnie Norris, USAF

LTC Orlando L. Rivera, USA

LtCol Michael C. Rowse, USMC (Ret)

LTC Philip S. Thompson, USA

Other Key Personnel:

Dr. William K. Riley

Ms. Cheryl V. Edwards, Publications Development Manager

Ms. Katherine Smith, Chief Coordinator

Mr. Roger Capps, Supervisor Illustrator

Mrs. Gail Keller Smith, Illustrator and Layout Coordinator

Ms. Judy B. Shoot, Illustrator

All have my sincere thanks.

CHARLES L. CORNWALL, Colonel, USAF

AFSC Pub 1 Editor

Table of Contents

704. JOINT PLANNING SUMMARY 7-32