Headquarters Joint Operations Command (Australia)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Headquarters Joint Operations Command


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dates= 2004 - Present
country= Australia
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type= Joint Headquarters
size= 550
command_structure= Australian Defence Force
garrison= Bungendore, NSW (Dec 2008)
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commander1= LTGEN Mark Evans AO, DSC
commander1_label= Chief of Joint Operations
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aircraft_transport=The Australian Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) operational level headquarters responsible for commanding and controlling ADF operations worldwide. It was formed from "Headquarters Australian Theatre" (HQAST) in 2004 to reflect the changing internal structure of the ADF and the need to establish a purpose built, collocated joint headquarters.

Headquarters Australian Theatre

HQAST was established as the ADF's first operational level joint headquarters in 1996. Prior to that, ADF's offshore operations were commanded by the "environmental commands" of the three Services: Maritime Headquarters (MHQ) at Garden Island, Potts Point; Land Headquarters (LHQ) at Victoria Barracks, Sydney (in Paddington); and Headquarters Air Command (HQAC) at RAAF Glenbrook west of Sydney at the foot of the Blue Mountains. When HQAST was established in 1996, it was intended to provide the ADF with a single headquarters to command the forces of all three Services when deployed on operations. The three services retained the responsibility for raising, training and sustaining their forces, but they then "force assigned" their troops to Commander Australian Theatre (COMAST) for the duration of any operational deployments.

Headquarters Joints Operations Command

The concept was taken a step further with the establishment of HQJOC in 2004. The headquarters remained in the same temporary facility at Potts Point, but the commander was re-designated Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) and raised from two-star to three-star rank level. Instead of creating a new three-star position, the Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) was initially dual-hatted as VCDF and CJOPS. The environmental commands and a number of other operational level headquarter elements across the ADF were designated as "components" of HQJOC. This meant, for example, that in additional the being responsible to Chief of Army for raising, training and sustaining ground forces, the Land Commander was also designated 'Land Component Commander' (LCC) of HQJOC and was responsible to CJOPS for a range of operational issues.

HQJOC(T)

Following an extensive review of ADF Command and Control by MAJGEN Dick Wilson in 2005 (known as "The Wilson Report"), HQJOC was re-structured and increased its staffing nearly five-fold in January 2007. It was officially designated as "HQJOC (Transitional)" for the two year period 2007-2008 while awaiting the construction of a new purpose built facility between Bungendore and Queanbeyan, east of Canberra. The most significant changes to the headquarters were the creation of a 24/7 Joint Control Centre, the establishment of five one-star level branch heads, and the expansion and re-location of Plans Branch into a temporary facility at Fairbairn, Canberra. Operations Branch remained at the facility at Potts Point, and the other branches (Support, Intelligence and the Air Operations Centre) were either located within the Russell Offices area, or divided between these three locations.

In September 2007, the Minister of Defence announced that a new separate three-star position had been created for CJOPS. [The initial appointment to the dedicated CJOPS position was LTGEN David Hurley, formerly Chief, Capability Development Executive.] The VCDF position was then left to focus on more strategic matters. [Minister's [http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2007/070924.doc press release 099/2007] ]

HQJOC(B)

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The permanent headquarters at Bungendore - known as HQJOC(B) - is due to be occupied in December 2008, and will see all 500 staff from all branches collocated in the one purpose built facility. [ [http://www.defence.gov.au/id/hqjoc/purpose.htm HQJOC - Purpose] ] [ [http://www.defence.gov.au/id/hqjoc/fact_sheets.htm#one Fact Sheet No 1 - A Permanent Headquarters Joint Operations Command] ] [ [http://www.defence.gov.au/id/hqjoc/fact_sheets.htm#two Fact Sheet No 2 - The Role of Headquarters Joint Operations Command] ] HQJOC(B) is located in the Molonglo River valley, about 25km east of Canberra city, 15km east of Queanbeyan and 15km SSW of Bungendore, on the south side of the railway line that marks the border between New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory; access to the site is from the Kings Highway in the north-east of the ACT (locality: Kowen) via a road which goes under the railway line. [http://www.defence.gov.au/id/hqjoc/images.htm Maps and photographs of the Bungendore site.] ] A secondary entrance road will join the road from the Kings Highway to Captains Flat. The site is about 4km north-west from the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope. The two-storey main Headquarters building will be located inside two security fences, one at 100m from the building, the other at 500m.

The new building is being constructed by Praeco Pty Ltd, a consortium comprising Leighton Contractors Pty Limited and ABN AMRO Australia Limited. The contract covers the capital cost of the buildings and infrastructure for the facility, and the cost of providing a range of contracted services such as access control, cleaning, administrative support, waste removal and maintenance services over the 30-year contract term. Defence will pay Praeco an Annual Service Payment, commencing when the facility is completed in July 2008; the first full-year payment will be AU$39.99 million, commencing in 2009-10. The whole-of-life nett present cost to Defence for the provision by Praeco of the buildings, infrastructure and services over the 30 year term is AU$572.2 million (all dollar amounts are expressed in 2006-07 prices, less GST). Praeco commenced construction in November 2006 with completion scheduled for July 2008. [ [http://www.defence.gov.au/id/hqjoc/consortia.htm HQJOC Project consortium] ]

Current Responsibilities

Under CJOPS, HQJOC is responsible for the command and control of all ADF operations worldwide. This means that each of the ADF's Combined or Joint Task Forces (CTF or JTF), and the Australian contingents to UN peace monitoring operations, are directly subordinate to HQJOC and their commanders report directly to CJOPS. This currently includes ADF deployments in East Timor, Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, and Iraq; contributions to UN operations in Sudan, Sinai Peninsula, and Israel/Lebanon; and border protection operations in northern Australia.

References

ee also

* Australian Department of Defence [http://www.defence.gov.au/id/hqjoc/ Headquarters Joint Operations Command Project]