Speaking to Pentagon reporters on May 2, Air Force Gen. Lance Smith, the commander of US Joint Forces Command, said the Norfolk, Va.-based command is hard at work supporting current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it also is planning for the future. Citing exercises such as Multinational Experiment 4, conducted earlier this year with coalition allies, Smith said JFCOM is helping to ensure that the US military works well with allies and international government and non-governmental agencies in responding to contingencies. Ultimately, said Smith, every combatant commander will have a “standing joint force headquarters.” Smith said JFCOM is taking ideas from all levels of the military and finding find ways to “transform them into something you can actually do in the field and be able to execute better.”
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.