| Unit Name: | Joint Task Force-National Capital Region |
| Dates: | September 22, 2004 - Present |
| Country: |  United States |
| Branch: | United States Armed Forces |
| Type: | All |
| Role: | Ceremonial Guard; Contingency Response |
| Command Structure: | United States Northern Command |
| Commander1: | MG Trevor J. Bredenkamp |
| Commander1 Label: | Commander |
| Commander2: | RDML David J. Faehnle |
| Commander2 Label: | Deputy Commander |
| Garrison: | Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. |
| Equipment: | JTF-NCR |
| Equipment Label: | Abbreviation |
| Motto: | Heed the Guardian |
Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR), formerly known as Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR), is directly responsible for ceremonial missions and the homeland security and defense of what is called the National Capital Region, which includes the Washington D.C. area as well as surrounding counties in Virginia and Maryland.[1] Primarily made up of joint military units within the National Capital Region, the JTF-NCR assists federal and local civilian agencies and disaster response teams in the event that the capital area's security is or possibly could be breached by acts of terrorism.Officially activated on September 22, 2004, as JFHQ-NCR, the JTF-NCR is part of United States Northern Command.
After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon on September 11, 2001, military and civilian leaders recognized a need for strong cooperation and communication between agencies and national and local units in times of emergency or to prevent such attacks in the first place, something that had been severely lacking prior to that time. USNORTHCOM was subsequently established, taking command of several JTFs throughout the U.S. that are charged with homeland security. The Joint Force Headquarters for the National Capital Region was created for the sole purpose of preventing and responding to future terrorist attacks within the Washington, D.C. area and its surrounding cities and counties.
JFHQ-NCR officially came into being in September 2004. However, the unit had been operating in part for at least a year prior to its official creation. Major General James T. Jackson, the Military District of Washington (MDW) Commander at the time of the September 11th attacks, was the first to take hold of the concept of the new Headquarters and began to piece various aspects of it together, particularly seeing and responding to the need for a mobile command center and a more effective central command and control headquarters. When MG Galen B. Jackman replaced Jackson in 2003, Jackman solidified the role of JFHQ, commanding the response to various regional emergencies and National Special Security Events (NSSE), proving the potential of JFHQ-NCR. When the organization finally stood up in the fall of 2004—after having had a year of practice—it was fully operational and able to provide an effective answer to the NCR's growing security concerns.[2]
When called upon to assist in a regional crisis or an NSSE (national events requiring security measures outlined and directed by the U.S. Secret Service), the JTF mobilizes to respond as quickly as possible and with as many component and interagency partners as applicable to address the issue at hand. Although the JTF is the single point of contact for military entities within the NCR, the JTF is ultimately guided by a lead agency (the agency that asked the JTF for assistance to begin with) and the directives of USNORTHCOM.
The JTF-NCR has had several claims of success in the few years it has been operating. The first crisis that required what was then the JFHQ-NCR to activate its JTF occurred on February 2, 2004, when ricin was discovered in the Capitol Hill office mail room of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. The Marine Corps' Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) assisted in the situation and helped officials safely decontaminate the area.[3]
Other times the JTF was activated in the NCR included the dedication of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall and its accompanying World War II reunion, former president Ronald Reagan's state funeral, President George W. Bush's 2005 Presidential Inauguration, President Bush's State of the Union Addresses, and the state funeral of former president Gerald Ford.[4] [5] [6]
The Joint Operations Center (JOC), dedicated a month and a half prior to the official activation of JFHQ-NCR, is the command and control center at the heart of the command. The JOC is housed in a building at Ft. McNair, designed with the latest in communication capabilities. The JOC boasts dozens of workstations, complete with secure and non-secure capability by way of phones, computer network access, and video teleconferencing for the entire center. The JOC is also "red phone" capable, Geospatial Information System ready, and fully integrated into the secure NORTHCOM communications system. In addition to the ability to communicate with various civilian and military units within the NCR, satellites provide the JOC with secure communication links to the Mobile Command Center and its smaller mobile cousin, "Dagger."[7]
The Mobile Command Post (MCP), like the JOC, was instituted as a direct result of failures in communication capabilities at the time of the September 11th attacks. MG James Jackson needed to be in two places at once much of the time to coordinate recovery efforts at the Pentagon; however, "We had no vehicle then that was capable of anything more than a non-secure telephone connection. The EOC was basically an unclassified environment. (Jackson) made the commitment to secure a modern mobile command center and to fund it from the MDW budget," said Col. Egon Hawrylak (USA-Ret.), a civilian deputy operations officer who previously worked in the MDW operations center.
The MCP, a mobile, smaller version of the JOC, is situated on a 41-foot, 10-wheeled, truck chassis. The MCP was custom built for its mission of providing mobile support to the JFHQ commander and the JOC and, like the JOC, is complete with the latest in computer, technological, and communication advances.
The Joint Service Honor Guard is composed of personnel from the official honor guard (see also honour guard) units of each uniformed branch in the United States Armed Forces. The honor guard units of each of the services are located in or near Washington D. C., and they form the ad-hoc battalion sized unit to represent the entire armed forces at numerous ceremonies of state, mostly State visits to the United States and the Armed Forces Farewell ceremony to the outgoing President before the United States presidential inauguration in January.
The following units make up the battalion:
Since the early 1940s, the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) has served as the official escort to the President, additionally providing security for the National Capital Region during national/local emergencies.[8]
Operationally attached to the ad-hoc battalion are five of the military bands and two field music formations designated as premier ensembles of the entire Armed Forces:
These bands take turns whenever they are assigned to perform in state ceremonies with the exception of the USMDBC, which, given that it reports directly to the office of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, can only be assigned on similar events upon his discretion. The 257th Army Band of the District of Columbia National Guard is occasionally attached if any of the bands are absent.
The commanding officer of the JTF-NCR is also the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington (MDW). This general officer, who represents the US Army within JTF-NCR through the MDW, is aided by a deputy commanding officer who is not associated with the MDW; he or she is a commanding officer of one of the military component-partners within JTF-NCR, normally the same officer who concurrently serves as the commandant of the Naval District of Washington. The commander of JTF-NCR, like all JTFs in the U.S., must answer to USNORTHCOM and its commanding general.[9] [10]
| + Commanding Officers of the JTF-NCR | |||||
| width=40% | Commander | width=40% | Deputy Commander | width=20% | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major General Trevor J. Bredenkamp, USA | Rear Admiral Nancy S. Lacore, USN | 2023–2024 | |||
| Major General Allan M. Pepin, USA | Rear Admiral Michael J. Steffen, USN | 2021–2023 | |||
| Major General Omar J. Jones IV, USA | Rear Admiral Carl A. Lahti, USN | 2019–2021 | |||
| Major General Michael L. Howard, USA | Rear Admiral Charles W. Rock, USN | 2017–2019 | |||
| 2015–2017 | |||||
| 2013–2015 | |||||
| 2011–2013 | |||||
| 2009–2011 | |||||
| 2007–2009 | |||||
| 2005–2007 | |||||
| Rear Admiral Jan Cody Gaudio, USN | 2004–2005 |
The Command Sergeant Major of the MDW, Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica Knapp, fills the same position within the JTF-NCR. Because of the dual-hatted role of the MDW/JTF-NCR Commander, both commands are headquartered out of the same address at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
When called upon for assistance by the civilian sector of the National Capital Region, the JTF-NCR acts as a single cooperative point of contact for a wide range of military units, civilian units, and government agencies throughout the Washington, D.C. area.[11] [12]
On 10 June 2010, Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, rescinded MDW's responsibility for the administration and daily operation of Arlington National Cemetery. However, MDW still maintains ceremonial support for funerals and guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
When required, the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing activates and becomes the Air Force service component of the task force. Normally, the commander of the Air Force District of Washington serves as the commander of the wing.[14]
