The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff announced today the establishment of the Joint
Theater Air Missile Defense Organization (JTAMDO). The
announcement puts in place the management structure to be used by
the Department of Defense in providing the joint force commanders
an improved capability to defend against air and missile threats.
A primary objective of the new management structure is to
effectively and efficiently integrate the Department's
requirements and acquisition activities for Theater Air and
Missile Defense (TAMD).
A Chairman's control activity, the JTAMDO, will report to
the Joint Staff's Director for Force Structure, Resources, and
Assessment (J-8). Its primary responsibilities will be to define
required systems interoperabilities and operational architectures
and to validate the developing joint theater air and missile
defense capabilities through both simulation and technology
demonstrations. The JTAMDO will coordinate with the combatant
commanders and the military services to develop joint mission
capstone requirements, a joint mission architecture, and a joint
capabilities roadmap.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO), under the
new management structure, will become the integration systems
architect for theater air and missile defenses. Working jointly
with JTAMDO and the military services, BMDO will translate the
JTAMDO-developed operational architecture into system
architectures, perform systems engineering at the architecture
level, plan and ensure integrated testing of defense
architectures and lead program acquisition activities, to include
the development of a joint acquisition roadmap for TAMD.
A key product of the new management structure will be a TAMD
Master Plan which will incorporate the requirements and
acquisitions roadmaps developed by the JTAMDO and BMDO.
More specifically, the Master Plan will provide the
prioritized capability requirements for validation by the Joint
Requirements Oversight Council (JROC), as well as the threat
definition and operational concepts.
It will also include the TAMD integration management plan
for the Department and the military services, including
architecture descriptions, cost, performance characteristics,
schedule and engineering and test plans for validation by the
service and ballistic missile defense acquisition executives.
While the new management structure will not alter service or
agency responsibilities for TAMD program execution and resource
management, the changes are expected to significantly enhance
coordination between the requirements and acquisition
communities, focus requirements generation and planning
activities, furnish systems-of-systems engineering at the
architecture level and provide for integrated oversight by the
Department's senior leaders.
The TAMD management structure changes have begun, to include
the initial stand-up activities for the JTAMDO. The process is
expected to be fully underway by the end of February, 1997.
Air Force Major General Stephen B. Plummer has been selected
as the first director of the JTAMDO and Navy Rear Admiral Herbert
C. Kaler as the deputy director. They will assume these duties
upon release from their present assignments. General Plummer
currently serves as the deputy director for Current Readiness and
Capabilities (J-38) in the Directorate for Operations on the
Joint Staff. Admiral Kaler is currently serving as the program
executive officer, Mine Warefare, Department of the Navy.
