Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general U.S. Joint Forces Command, issued a statementafter President Barack Obama’s approval of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ recommendation to disestablish U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM).
“On Jan. 6, the President approved the disestablishment of USJFCOM on a date determined by the Secretary of Defense, and directed that action to be reflected in the 2010 Unified Command Plan.
Earlier that day, the Secretary of Defense announced while details are still being refined, a number of USJFCOM missions will be retained in the Norfolk/Suffolk, Va. area and that ‘roughly 50 percent of the capabilities under JFCOM will be kept and assigned to other organizations.’
We continue to work closely with the Pentagon, the Virginia delegation and the governor’s office in our detailed planning effort. The input and involvement of the Virginia delegation and the governor’s office have been very valuable to me, and we will continue to work together towards a final plan in the near future.
U.S. Joint Forces Command has an exceptionally skilled and capable work force that will continue to make contributions to the joint warfighter. We will do everything we can to assist the work force going forward.”