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<br />R-IO-28 <br /> <br />A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE PROPOSED CLOSURE OF UNITED <br />ST A TES JOINT FORCES COMMAND (JFCOM) AND REQUESTING THE <br />VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION AND GOVERNOR <br />MCDONNELL TO TAKE WHATEVER ACTIONS ARE NECESSARY TO <br />MAINT AIN JFCOM'S PRESENCE IN HAMPTON ROADS. <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the mission of JFCOM is to provide ready capable joint forces to <br />support the development and integration of joint, interagency, and multi-national <br />capabilities to meet the present and future operational needs of the military, as well as to <br />anticipate and prepare for the future demands of the National Defense Strategy; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, JFCOM currently employs in the cities of Portsmouth, Norfolk, <br />Suffolk and elsewhere, over 6,324 people including 5600 in Hampton Roads; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, JFCOM has an operating budget of $704 million; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Defense Business Board, a Pentagon Advisory Board, presented <br />a report making many. recommendations including the need to address unsustainable <br />trends associated with military entitlements, the reduction of the number of military <br />personnel serving in commercial non-government activities, the elimination of uniformed <br />personnel serving in governmental activities that should be occupied by Department of <br />Defense (000) civilian employees, and most importantly, reduction of the number and <br />size of Combatant Commands beginning with the elimination of JFCOM and <br />streamlining other commands and Operational Services Division (OSD) regulations; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the Defense Business Board Report also stated a need to do more <br />in-depth study which has not been done on the JFCOM issue; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, on August 9, 2010, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates officially <br />recommended that JFCOM be closed; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the proposed closure of JFCOM is being done without any regard <br />for Federal Law, particularly Title 10 of the U.S. Code, S 2687 which was established to <br />ensure that Congress has sufficient time and opportunity to review the DOD proposal that <br />resulted in the closure realignment of significant military facilities which JFCOM surely <br />is; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the closure of JFCOM would have an immediate and continuing <br />severely detrimental effect on the military's ability to jointly address threats to national <br />security and would greatly weaken the effectiveness and efficiency of the individual <br />uniformed services to function as one cohesive and joint military force to counter, among <br />other things, worldwide terrorism; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the existence and location of JFCOM played the definitive role in <br />the establishment and continuation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) <br />Supreme Allied Command - Transformation (SAC- T) component, as the only United <br />