A planning committee of personnel from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), its components, and other regional commands joined together for a three-day conference at the U.S.AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, January 13-15, 2009, to plan for the establishment of a Joint Task Force Headquarters (JTFHQ) which will serve as the command's center for coordinating military response to crises or emergency situations.

While conflict prevention is a key element to Africa Command's mission in establishing security and stability in Africa, the command must also be prepared to respond to disasters and crises on the continent. This requires adequate staffing, resources, and expertise. The advantage of a JTFHQ is that it draws on the experience and resources of a variety of component organizations to ensure that U.S. Africa Command is fully prepared to engage quickly and effectively.

In attendance were more than 70 representatives from U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF), the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force (SETAF), U.S. Air Forces Africa, U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), U.S. European Command (EUCOM), and U.S. Africa Command.

According to Navy Captain Ellen Jewett, with U.S. Africa Command's Operations and Logistics directorate, the JTFHQ offers many benefits to the newly-established Africa Command, providing additional support among various capabilities in the event of a major crisis. She explained that by leveraging the capabilities of the member-components, the JTFHQ could quickly prepare a response package, which could then be promptly executed by U.S. Africa Command.

The conference opened with remarks from Major General Anthony Jackson, U.S. Africa Command's director for operations and logistics, who thanked all for attending and emphasized that the establishment of the JTFHQ will be a team effort. Jackson described JTFHQ as an institutional mechanism that will address not only today's issues, but will work towards long-term solutions, such as countering piracy, building the military infrastructure in African nations, and improving the situation in Darfur.

The rest of the day consisted of updates from each of the components and presentations by PACOM, EUCOM, and JFCOM. Based on this information, participants will spend the next two days in plenary sessions, drafting a strategy for the establishment of Joint Task Force Headquarters, which is set for February 2009.