Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is pleased that you are able to participate in this year’s Joint Civilian Orientation Conference. As you know, the goal of JCOC has been to provide an opportunity for influential United States opinion leaders to gain a better understanding of the missions and goals of our Armed Forces.

Due to a refocusing of military resources in the United States on Operation Iraqi Freedom, we are adjusting what has been a U.S.-based conference agenda to one focused on the key command centers worldwide engaged in winning the global war on terrorism.

The Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC) is a week-long, multi-Service orientation program for civilian public opinion leaders who have limited knowledge of national defense issues. JCOC participants attend briefings in the Pentagon given by the highest levels of Department of Defense (DoD) civilian and military leadership. The participants then spend the rest of the conference in the field with all of the Military Services observing exercises, firing weapons, and participating in training. It is a program in which the Secretary of Defense takes a personal interest and is the only civilian orientation program that he sponsors. It is the oldest existing Pentagon program, having been held 66 times since 1948.

For more JCOC information, please visit the JCOC Facts page.