Joint Forces Command Act of 1998

Summary: Joint Forces Command Act of 1998 - Directs the President to establish a unified combatant command for joint forces which shall: (1) integrate elements of the various service branches into joint forces, prepare such forces for their assigned mission, and provide such forces as required by combatant commanders; and (2) design, develop, and carry out joint experimentation to assist in determining the future capabilities, organization, and operational concepts of the joint military force. 
Provides for:  (1) joint forces command assignments; (2) authorities and responsibilities of the combatant commander; (3) the establishment within such command of a joint experimentation force; (4) annual reports from the joint commander to the Secretary of Defense describing joint experimentation activities conducted (requiring such reports to be transmitted to the Congress, along with the Secretary's comments); (5) the establishment by the Secretary of a separate major force program budget category for joint experimentation activities; (6) funding determinations for joint force experimentation; and (7) joint command staffing. 
Requires the:  (1) joint force command to be established no later than October 1, 1999; and (2) Secretary to submit an implementation plan and initial budgeting request for such command.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Joint Forces Command Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. UNIFIED COMMAND FOR JOINT FORCES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 6 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 169. Joint forces command
    ``(a) Establishment.--With the advice and assistance of the 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the President, through the 
Secretary of Defense, shall establish under section 161 of this title a 
unified combatant command for joint forces (hereinafter in this section 
referred to as the `joint forces command'). The principal functions of 
the command are--
            ``(1) to integrate elements of the different armed forces 
        into joint forces, to prepare those forces to be provided to 
        the commanders of other combatant commands to carry out 
        assigned missions, and to provide those forces as required by 
        those commanders; and
            ``(2) to design, develop, and carry out a process of joint 
        experimentation to assist in determining the future 
        capabilities, organization, and operational concepts of the 
        joint military force.
    ``(b) Assignment of Forces.--(1) Unless otherwise directed by the 
Secretary of Defense, all active and reserve forces stationed in the 
continental United States other than those specified in paragraph (2) 
shall be assigned to the joint forces command.
    (2) Special operations forces covered by section 167(b) of this 
title and forces assigned to a functional combatant command shall not 
be assigned to the joint forces command.
    ``(c) Grade of Commander; Selection.--(1) The commander of the 
joint forces command shall hold the grade of general or, in the case of 
an officer in the Navy, admiral, while serving in that position, 
without vacating his permanent grade. The commander of such command 
shall be appointed to that grade by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, for service in that position.
    ``(2) The Secretary of Defense may recommend an officer to the 
President for appointment as commander of the joint forces command only 
after seeking a recommendation from the Secretary of each military 
department for that recommendation. In the case of the Secretary of the 
Navy, the Secretary of Defense shall seek a recommendation of both a 
Navy officer and a Marine Corps officer.
    ``(d) Authority and Responsibilities of Combatant Commander.--(1) 
In addition to the authority prescribed in section 164(c) of this 
title, the commander of the joint forces command shall be responsible 
for, and shall have the authority to conduct, all joint force 
activities related to the responsibilities specified in paragraphs (2) 
and (3) for forces assigned to that command in consultation with the 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other activities as directed 
by the Secretary of Defense.
    ``(2) In carrying out the function specified in subsection (a)(1), 
the commander of the joint forces command shall be responsible for, and 
shall have the authority to conduct, the following functions relating 
to joint forces:
            ``(A) Planning, conducting, and assessing the joint 
        training of assigned forces, including joint task force command 
        and staff.
            ``(B) Developing joint doctrine, operational concepts, and 
        joint tactics, techniques, and procedures.
            ``(C) Preparing and submitting to the Secretary of Defense 
        program recommendations and budget proposals for forces 
        assigned to the joint forces command.
            ``(D) Conducting `red team' vulnerability assessments 
        against fielded and developmental systems to determine whether 
        these systems are effective in countermeasure environments.
            ``(E) Integrating training facilities and areas of the 
        separate armed forces to assure consistency in the application 
of joint doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures.
            ``(F) Conducting specialized joint courses of instruction 
        for commissioned and noncommissioned officers.
            ``(G) Assisting in the development of joint training and 
        analytical simulation systems.
            ``(H) Assessing the interoperability of equipment and 
        forces and making recommendations to the Secretary of Defense 
        and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the reduction 
        of unnecessary redundancy across equipment, forces, and 
        training and experimentation facilities and programs in the 
        continental United States.
            ``(I) Recommending plans to the Secretary of Defense and 
        the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to synchronize the 
        fielding of advanced technologies across the armed forces to 
        enable the development and execution of joint operational 
        concepts.
            ``(J) Submitting, reviewing, and making recommendations to 
        the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on mission needs 
        statements and operational requirements documents for major 
        warfighting platforms, munitions, and enabling capabilities in 
        the areas of--
                    ``(i) command, control, communications, and 
                computers;
                    ``(ii) intelligence, surveillance, and 
                reconnaissance;
                    ``(iii) logistics;
                    ``(iv) force protection; and
                    ``(v) other areas designated by the Secretary of 
                Defense.
            ``(K) Ensuring the joint readiness of forces assigned to 
        the joint forces command, in accordance with guidance from the 
        Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
            ``(L) Monitoring the joint preparedness of joint forces 
        deployed from bases in the continental United States and 
        assigned to the commander of a unified combatant command other 
        than the joint forces command.
            ``(M) Integrating the capabilities of forces of the 
        different armed forces to achieve the joint warfighting 
        capabilities required by the commanders of the unified 
        combatant commands.
            ``(N) Providing trained and ready joint forces in support 
        of the mission requirements of the commanders of the unified 
        combatant commands.
    ``(3) In carrying out the function specified in subsection (a)(2), 
the commander of the joint forces command shall be responsible for, and 
shall have the authority to conduct, the following functions relating 
to joint experimentation:
            ``(A) Developing a process of joint experimentation 
        comprised of simulations, wargames, vulnerability assessments, 
        experiments, and exercises conducted in virtual and actual 
        field environments.
            ``(B) Developing equipment required by the joint force in 
        the conduct of joint experimentation, to include the 
        identification and use of surrogate or real technologies, 
        platforms, and systems.
            ``(C) Establishing joint battle laboratories and 
        coordinating with battle laboratories of the different armed 
        forces to investigate advanced technologies, changes in 
        organizational structures, or new joint operational concepts.
            ``(D) Establishing or coordinating for the development of 
        joint training centers, to include urban warfare training 
        centers.
            ``(E) Establishing a Joint Concepts Development Center 
        focused on meeting future operational challenges.
            ``(F) Developing scenarios and measures of effectiveness 
        for experimentation activities.
            ``(G) Assessing the effectiveness of organizational 
        structures, operational concepts, and technologies, platforms, 
        and systems employed in joint experimentation activities.
            ``(H) Acquiring material, supplies, and services required 
        for the conduct of joint experimentation.
            ``(I) Exercising authority, direction, and control over the 
        expenditure of funds for the conduct of joint experimentation 
        activities of forces assigned to the joint forces command.
            ``(J) Integrating and testing in joint experiments those 
        systems and concepts which emerge from service or agency 
        experimentation activities.
            ``(K) Developing and recommending to the Chairman of the 
        Joint Chiefs of Staff requirements for future joint warfighting 
        capabilities.
            ``(L) Advising the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of 
        the Joint Chiefs of Staff in establishing priorities for joint 
        requirements and acquisition programs as they relate to joint 
        warfighting capabilities.
    ``(e) Joint Experimentation Force.--The commander of the joint 
forces command shall establish with assigned forces from each of the 
armed forces a joint experimentation force to carry out the commander's 
joint experimentation responsibilities.
    ``(f) Annual Report on Joint Experimentation.--(1) The commander of 
the joint forces command shall submit to the Secretary of Defense an 
annual report describing the conduct of joint experimentation 
activities by the command during the preceding year. Each such report 
shall include the number of such activities and, for each such 
activity, the following:
            ``(A) A description of the forces involved.
            ``(B) The operational challenges addressed.
            ``(C) The assessed results.
    ``(2) Each such report shall include the commander's comments on 
the effect of each activity on the transformation process, to include 
recommendations on the development or procurement of advanced 
technologies, systems, or platforms, and recommendations for changes in 
force structure, operational concepts, joint doctrine, and resource 
allocation.
    ``(3) The Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress the annual 
report of the commander of the joint forces command under paragraph 
(1), together with the comments of the Secretary and the Chairman of 
the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the report. The Secretary shall submit the 
report each year in conjunction with the submission of the President's 
budget for the next fiscal year.
    ``(g) Budget.--(1) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a 
separate major force program category for joint experimentation 
activities. This program category shall be administered by the 
commander of the joint forces command, who shall have planning, 
programming, budgeting, and execution authority.
    ``(2) In addition to the activities of a combatant command for 
which funding may be requested under section 166(b) of this title, the 
budget proposal of the joint forces command shall include requests for 
funding for the following:
            ``(A) Research and development of equipment required by the 
        joint force in the conduct of joint experimentation.
            ``(B) Procurement of material, supplies, and services 
        required for the conduct of joint experimentation.
            ``(C) Operations and maintenance expenditures associated 
        with the conduct of joint experimentation activities.
            ``(D) Operation of joint battle laboratories and joint 
        concept development centers.
    ``(3) Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the 
Secretary of Defense, the commander of the joint forces command, in 
carrying out his responsibilities under subsection (d), shall have 
authority to exercise the functions of the head of an agency under 
chapter 137 of this title.
    ``(h) Budget Support for Joint Force Activities.--(1) Before the 
budget proposal for the joint forces command for any fiscal year is 
submitted to the Secretary of Defense, the commander of the joint 
forces command shall consult with the Secretaries of the military 
departments concerning funding for joint force experimentation. If the 
Secretary of a military department does not concur in the recommended 
level of funding with respect to such experimentation that is under the 
jurisdiction of the Secretary, the commander shall include with the 
budget proposal submitted to the Secretary of Defense the views of the 
Secretary of the military department concerning such funding.
    ``(2) Before the budget proposal for a military department for any 
fiscal year is submitted to the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
that military department shall consult with the commander of the joint 
forces command concerning funding for participation in joint 
experimentation in the military personnel, operations and maintenance, 
procurement, or research and development account in that military 
department. If the commander of the joint forces command does not 
concur in the recommended level of funding with respect to joint 
experimentation activities, the Secretary shall include with the budget 
proposal submitted to the Secretary of Defense the views of the 
commander of joint forces command.
    ``(i) Staff for Commander, Joint Forces Command.--(1) The Secretary 
of Defense shall provide sufficient staff for the commander of the 
joint forces command to carry out his duties and responsibilities, 
including particularly his duties relating to the following functions:
            ``(A) Developing equipment and acquiring material, 
        supplies, and services required for the process of joint 
        experimentation.
            ``(B) Designing, conducting, and assessing joint 
        experimentation activities.
            ``(C) Operating joint battle laboratories and concept 
        development centers.
            ``(D) Managing assigned resources from the major force 
        program category for joint experimentation activities of the 
        Future-Years Defense Plan of the Department as required to be 
        created pursuant to subsection (g).
    ``(2) The commander of the joint forces command shall appoint an 
acquisition executive with appropriate authority to conduct all 
required contracting actions and reviews associated with research and 
development and procurement programs.
    ``(3) The staff of the joint forces command shall include an 
inspector general who shall conduct internal audits and inspections of 
purchasing and contracting actions through the joint forces command and 
such other inspector general functions as may be assigned.
    ``(j) Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe 
regulations for the activities of the joint forces command. Those 
regulations shall include authorization for the commander of the 
command to provide operational security of joint forces while under 
that commander's combatant command authority during joint activities 
conducted in the continental United States.
    ``(k) Continental United States.--In this section, the term 
`continental United States' means the 48 contiguous States and the 
District of Columbia.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``169. Joint forces command.''.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Effective Date.--The joint forces command required to be 
established by section 169 of title 10, United States Code, as added by 
section 2, shall be established not later than October 1, 1999.
    (b) Implementation Plan.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit to 
Congress an implementation plan for the joint forces command. The plan 
shall be submitted in conjunction with submission of the President's 
budget for fiscal year 2000.
    (c) Initial Budgeting.--The Secretary of Defense shall request 
funding for the implementation of joint forces command in the 
President's budget for fiscal year 2000. Funding for a major force 
program category for joint experimentation shall be included in the 
President's budget beginning with fiscal year 2001.