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Air Force Efforts to Build a Joint Task Force Headquarters for More Information on This Publication, Visit C O R P O R A T I O N CAITLIN LEE, STEPHEN WEBBER, ALICE SHIH, MICHAEL SPIRTAS Running the Joint Air Force Efforts to Build a Joint Task Force Headquarters For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RRA590-1. About RAND The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. To learn more about RAND, visit www.rand.org. Research Integrity Our mission to help improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis is enabled through our core values of quality and objectivity and our unwavering commitment to the highest level of integrity and ethical behavior. To help ensure our research and analysis are rigorous, objective, and nonpartisan, we subject our research publications to a robust and exacting quality-assurance process; avoid both the appearance and reality of financial and other conflicts of interest through staff training, project screening, and a policy of mandatory disclosure; and pursue transparency in our research engagements through our commitment to the open publication of our research findings and recommendations, disclosure of the source of funding of published research, and policies to ensure intellectual independence. For more information, visit www.rand.org/about/principles. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © 2021 RAND Corporation is a registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-1-9774-0708-5 Cover: Pfc. Daniel J. Alkana/U.S. Army. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. Preface In 2016, General David Goldfein, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, called on 9th Air Force (9 AF) at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina to develop a Joint Task Force Headquarters (JTF HQ) capability, with the expectation that other numbered air forces would follow. After declaring initial operation capability in December 2018, 9 AF began to move toward full operating capacity. In the spring of 2020, 9 AF was called on to lead Task Force–Southeast, supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. In August 2020, wings and direct reporting units from 9 AF and the 12th Air Force were integrated to form the 15th Air Force (15 AF), which continues the 9 AF mission to prepare to deploy as a service-retained JTF HQ or Air Expeditionary Task Force headquarters. Before 9 AF was integrated into 15 AF, 9 AF leadership and Headquarters Air Force (HAF) asked the RAND Corporation to examine how JTF HQs are formed and identify those factors that influence the selection of a unit to lead a Joint Task Force (JTF). RAND was also asked to explore how the U.S. Air Force (USAF) can prepare for the unique requirements of leading joint operations. This report outlines those issues associated with “getting ready” (how the USAF can prepare to lead joint operations) and “getting the call” (how the USAF can posture itself to increase and enhance its JTF leadership opportunities). RAND conducted this research through discussions with 9 AF staff, observation of ongoing unit training, engagement with individuals across the U.S. Department of Defense, quantitative analysis of trends in JTF formation from 1990 to 2017, and case studies of the recent joint operations Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn, Joint Forces Command–United Assistance, and Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve. This study provides insights for 15 AF personnel as they continue the work of 9 AF to prepare for the JTF HQ mission. It also supports USAF leaders, particularly those engaged in policy formulation and resource allocation decisions, by framing the organization, training, and equipping issues that influence the USAF’s ability to stand up a JTF HQ. More broadly, it may be of interest to airmen, other military personnel, and members of the larger defense community who seek to better understand the operational level of war, the JTF construct, and the USAF’s efforts to enhance its joint leadership capabilities. It builds on a previous RAND study, What It Takes: Air Force Command of Joint Operations, which sought to help the Air Force understand the requirements of an effective JTF HQ. This research was funded by 9 AF and HAF, sponsored by the 15 AF commander, Major General Chad Franks, and initiated by his predecessor, the 9 AF commander, Major General Scott J. Zobrist (Ret.). It was conducted within the Force Modernization and iii Employment Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE as part of a 2019–2020 project, “Running the Joint: Air Force Command of Joint Task Force Headquarters.” RAND Project AIR FORCE RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corporation, is the Department of the Air Force’s (DAF’s) federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses, supporting both the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force. PAF provides the DAF with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future air, space, and cyber forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Strategy and Doctrine; Force Modernization and Employment; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; and Resource Management. The research reported here was prepared under contract FA7014-16-D-1000. Additional information about PAF is available on our website: www.rand.org/paf/ This report documents work originally shared with the DAF in June 2020. The draft report, issued in June 2020, was reviewed by formal peer reviewers and DAF subject-matter experts. iv Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................ iii Figures........................................................................................................................................... vii Tables ........................................................................................................................................... viii Summary ........................................................................................................................................ ix Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... xi Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ xii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Background ................................................................................................................................. 1 Objective ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Approach and Methods ............................................................................................................... 4 Limitations .................................................................................................................................. 4 Outline ........................................................................................................................................ 5 2. Historical Background and Context for the USAF’s Efforts to Increase Its Role in JTF HQ Formation .................................................................................................................... 6 Initial Efforts to Bolster the USAF’s Role in Leading Joint Teams: 2013–2015 ....................... 7 Developing a Strategic Approach to USAF JTF HQ Formation: 2016–2018 ........................ 10 Making Choices: The Role of USAF Bureaucratic, Political, and Cultural Debates in Shaping 9 AF JTF HQ Formation ....................................................................................... 11 Conclusion: Finding a Balance ................................................................................................. 18 3. The 9th Air Force’s Efforts to Organize, Train, and Equip to Provide a JTF HQ Capability ..................................................................................................................... 19 Resource Challenges: Time, Advocacy, and Money ................................................................ 20 JTF HQ Credibility: Evolving Mission Focus and Lack of Understanding of Certification Processes ........................................................................................................ 23 The Unclear Role for 9 AF in Evolving USAF and Department of Defense Force Presentation Concepts
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