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Joint
Requirements and Integration Directorate
(J8)
The
director for requirements and integration (J8) serves as the lead
joint integration expert, ensuring the various services and defense
agencies can combine their capabilities into a single successful
effort.
This
allows us to fight both “joint” (integrated capabilities
between the Marines, Air Force, Army, Navy, etc.) as well as “combined”
(U.S. forces and allied militaries fighting as a cohesive package).
Within
Joint Forces Command, the director also serves as the deputy for
the entire transformation effort,
to ensure the integration of the various disciplines (training,
experimentation, etc.).
The
director also participates in the allocation of resources at the
Department of Defense level to ensure unique joint requirements,
such as a combat identification system or a theater missile defense
system, are examined for any interoperability issues with existing
or planned technologies.
Part
of this process includes the planning, programming, and budgeting
of new systems and prioritizing their assessment by Department of
Defense committees such as the joint requirements board, and the
joint requirements oversight council.
The integration and interoperability effort is facilitated through
subordinate agencies such as the Joint C4ISR
(Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) Battle Center – also
known as the “JBC”.
The
JBC serves as a “battle laboratory” for analyzing Department
of Defense integration and interoperability issues, and works closely
with the joint force trainer’s Joint
Warfighting Center and the director for joint
experimentation to ensure integration projects are studied through
experiments, and tested through joint training events.
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