1:
In the beginning
Joint
Forces Command's origins trace back to 1947
During
the peacetime that followed World War II, the military
applied lessons learned from the war, adopting a new system
of organization under a single secretary of defense. The
system established the U.S. Air Force, the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and new commands made up of components from more
than one military service. These new multi-service or
unified commands had broad, continuing missions and were
intended to ensure that forces from the Army, Navy, Air
Force and Marine Corps would all work together.
The
unified commands were either responsible for a geographical
area (like Europe or the Pacific) or a specific function,
such as transportation. Atlantic Command (now U.S. Joint
Forces Command) was created as the unified command with
responsibility for the Atlantic Ocean geographical region.
Due
to the maritime nature of its missions, Atlantic Command
was integrated with the Navy's existing Atlantic Fleet
and was primarily staffed by Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
Its initial mission was to guard sea lanes between Europe
and the U.S. East Coast. As the Cold War heated up during
the second half of the century, Atlantic Command's mission
proved crucial protecting sea lanes in the Atlantic.
2:
Defending the
North Atlantic
After
the onset of the Cold War, Atlantic Command played a critical
role ensuring NATO forces would be able to move troops
and supplies across the Atlantic without Soviet intervention
Cooperation
with NATO enabled Atlantic Command to form a coalition
of strategically located bases and operational forces
in the North Atlantic that could provide continuous protection
and surveillance operations throughout the Cold War.
Although
the Soviet surface navy didn't pose a considerable threat
in the Atlantic, their submarines threatened NATO's defense
of Western Europe. Consequently, Atlantic Command aircraft,
ships and submarines were continually deployed to monitor
and deter Soviet submarine operations in the Atlantic.
Additionally,
because of the dangers of Soviet air attack, Atlantic
Command maintained a line of radar stations from Greenland,
through Iceland, to the United Kingdom. From bases in
Iceland, Air Force units assigned to Atlantic Command
intercepted Soviet aircraft in the North Atlantic.
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