After 12 years of service and in preparation for lean times for defense spending, the Joint Forces Command was officially closed during a ceremony Thursday in Suffolk, Va.
Army Times reports former Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended the command be closed on advice from a Pentagon board in 2010. President Barack Obama approved the recommendation in January.
The Norfolk, Va.-based command was established in 1999 to get all branches of the military to work closer together.
“You can take genuine pride in Joint Forces Command’s essential role in transforming and guiding the separate branches of our military into a truly joint force,†said Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Our young men and women in theater now are not only operating, but thinking, jointly.â€
About 80 percent of personnel will be transferred to other locations. Most of the command’s functions are being transferred to the Joint Staff and other commands.
