HQJOC
| Headquarters Joint Operations Command | |
|---|---|
| Active | 2004 – present |
| Country | Australia |
| Type | Joint Headquarters |
| Size | 550 |
| Part of | Australian Defence Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Kowen, ACT |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Joint Operations | VADM David Johnston |
The Australian Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) operational level headquarters responsible for the command and control of ADF operations worldwide. It was formed from "Headquarters Australian Theatre" (HQAST) in 2004 to reflect the changing internal structure of the ADF and the need to establish a purpose built, co-located joint headquarters. Since December 2008, it has been based adjacent to the Kowen district of the Australian Capital Territory, just south of the Kings Highway, about 15 km east of Queanbeyan and 15 km south of Bungendore. The complex is known as the General John Baker Complex, named after a former Chief of Defence Force who was a strong advocate of joint command and control.
HQAST was established in a temporary facility at Potts Point, New South Wales, in 1996 as the ADF's first operational level joint headquarters. Prior to that, ADF's offshore operations were commanded by the "environmental commands" of the three Services, also known as the "component commands":
When HQAST was established in 1996, it was intended to provide the ADF with a single headquarters to command the forces of all three services when deployed on operations. The three services retained the responsibility for raising, training and sustaining their forces, but they then "force assigned" their troops to Commander Australian Theatre (COMAST) for the duration of any operational deployments.
The concept was taken a step further with the establishment of HQJOC in 2004. The headquarters remained in the same temporary facility at Potts Point, but the commander was re-designated Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) and raised from two-star to three-star rank level. Instead of creating a new three-star position, the Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) was initially dual-hatted as VCDF and CJOPS. The environmental commands, and a number of other operational level headquarters' elements across the ADF, were designated as "components" of HQJOC. This meant, for example, that in addition to being responsible to Chief of Army for raising, training and sustaining ground forces, the Land Commander (LCAUST) was also designated the "Land Component Commander" (LCC) of HQJOC, and was responsible to CJOPS for a range of operational issues involving the Land Component of the ADF.
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