Canadian Joint Operations Command
The Canadian Joint Operations Command is one of the two unified commands of the Canadian Armed Forces, the other one being the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. CJOC was announced in May 2012 as the result of the cost-cutting measures in the 2012 federal budget through the merger of Canada Command, the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command and the Canadian Operational Support Command under an integrated command-and-control structure. The command was stood up on 5 October 2012 to officially replace the three former organizations.
The command team is composed of a three-star commander, assisted by three two-star deputy commanders, one for each of the three main components. The team is rounded out by a one-star chief of staff and four senior non-commissioned members, an overall command chief warrant/petty officer, and a command chief warrant/petty officer for each component.
CJOC's role is to "anticipate and conduct Canadian Forces operations, and develop, generate and integrate joint force capabilities for operations."
The continental component consists of six regional joint task forces. In five of these JTFs, the commander also commands an army division or a maritime force. The five southern JTFs have no permanent operational units: units and detachments are temporarily assigned to them from the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force according to operational requirements.
Task force | Headquarters | Region | Commander |
Joint Task Force North | Yellowknife, Northwest Territories | Northern Canada | |
Joint Task Force Pacific | Victoria, British Columbia | British Columbia | CO of Maritime Forces Pacific |
Joint Task Force West | Edmonton, Alberta | Prairie provinces | CO of 3rd Canadian Division |
Joint Task Force Central | Toronto, Ontario | Ontario | CO of 4th Canadian Division |
Joint Task Force East | Montreal, Quebec | Quebec | CO of 2nd Canadian Division |
Joint Task Force Atlantic | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Atlantic Canada | CO of Maritime Forces Atlantic |
On 1 April 2015, 1st Canadian Division was transferred from the Canadian Army to CJOC.