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 follow-
ing new section:
‘‘§ 169. Joint forces command
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—With the advice and assist-
ance of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the
President, through the Secretary of Defense, shall estab-
lish under section 161 of this title a unified combatant
command for joint forces (hereinafter in this section re-
ferred 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 mis-
sions, 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 rec-
ommendation from the Secretary of each military depart-
ment for that recommendation. In the case of the Sec-
retary 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 COM-
BATANT 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 consulta-
tion 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 sub-
section (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 con-
cepts, 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 com-
mand.
‘‘(D) Conducting ‘red team’ vulnerability as-
sessments 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 in-
struction for commissioned and noncommissioned of-
ficers.
‘‘(G) Assisting in the development of joint
training and analytical simulation systems.
‘‘(H) Assessing the interoperability of equip-
ment and forces and making recommendations to
the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff for the reduction of unneces-
sary redundancy across equipment, forces, and train-
ing 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 tech-
nologies across the armed forces to enable the devel-
opment and execution of joint operational concepts.
‘‘(J) Submitting, reviewing, and making rec-
ommendations to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff on mission needs statements and operational
requirements documents for major warfighting plat-
forms, munitions, and enabling capabilities in the
areas of—
‘‘(i) command, control, communications,
and computers;
‘‘(ii) intelligence, surveillance, and recon-
naissance;
‘‘(iii) logistics;
‘‘(iv) force protection; and
‘‘(v) other areas designated by the Sec-
retary of Defense.
‘‘(K) Ensuring the joint readiness of forces as-
signed 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 com-
manders of the unified combatant commands.
‘‘(3) In carrying out the function specified in sub-
section (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 experi-
mentation:
‘‘(A) Developing a process of joint experimen-
tation comprised of simulations, wargames, vulner-
ability assessments, experiments, and exercises con-
ducted 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 devel-
opment of joint training centers, to include urban
warfare training centers.
‘‘(E) Establishing a Joint Concepts Develop-
ment Center focused on meeting future operational
challenges.
nance, 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 sub-
mitted to the Secretary of Defense the views of the com-
mander of joint forces command.
‘‘(i) STAFF FOR COMMANDER, JOINT FORCES COM-
MAND.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall provide suffi-
cient staff for the commander of the joint forces command
to carry out his duties and responsibilities, including par-
ticularly his duties relating to the following functions:
‘‘(A) Developing equipment and acquiring mate-
rial, 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 experimen-
tation 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 au-
thority to conduct all required contracting actions and re-
views associated with research and development and pro-
curement programs.
‘‘(3) The staff of the joint forces command shall in-
clude an inspector general who shall conduct internal au-
dits and inspections of purchasing and contracting actions
through the joint forces command and such other inspec-
tor 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 com-
batant command authority during joint activities con-
ducted in the continental United States.
‘‘(k) CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.—In this sec-
tion, 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 estab-
lished not later than October 1, 1999.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The Secretary of De-
fense 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.
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