Combined Joint Operations from the Sea (CJOS)

Combined Joint Operations from the Sea (CJOS)
Name	Combined Joint Operations from the Sea
Abbreviation	CJOS
Type	Doctrine/Concept
Established	1990s
Scope	Maritime power projection, littoral operations
Participants	NATO, United States Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

Combined Joint Operations from the Sea (CJOS) Combined Joint Operations from the Sea (CJOS) is a maritime-centered framework for projecting integrated United States Navy and allied naval, air, and land capabilities into littoral and maritime domains. It emphasizes combined and joint planning among states and alliances such as NATO, the Quad participants, and regional coalitions including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations partners. CJOS aims to synchronize naval task forces, expeditionary forces, carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, and supporting air assets for crisis response, deterrence, and high-intensity combat.

Overview and Concept

CJOS integrates assets from actors like the United States Marine Corps, Royal Marines, French Navy, German Navy, Indian Navy, and the Republic of Korea Navy to execute operations across the Mediterranean Sea, South China Sea, Persian Gulf, and Baltic Sea. The concept fuses doctrines from the U.S. Doctrine for Joint Operations, British Joint Doctrine, and multinational frameworks such as the NATO Allied Joint Doctrine to enable combined expeditionary maneuver, sea control, power projection, and littoral security. CJOS leverages platforms including aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, destroyers, frigates, submarines, and naval aviation for integrated effects.

Historical Development

CJOS traces intellectual roots to Cold War-era concepts like Maritime Strategy (1986), the Amphibious Warfare evolution in the Royal Navy and United States Marine Corps during the 1970s–1980s, and multinational exercises such as Exercise RIMPAC and NATO Exercise Reforger. Post–Cold War interventions in the Gulf War (1990–1991), Balkans conflicts, and Operation Enduring Freedom influenced CJOS emphasis on littoral access and joint forcible entry. The rise of anti-access/area-denial challenges from actors like the People's Liberation Army Navy and asymmetric threats from non-state groups such as Hezbollah accelerated doctrinal refinement in the 2000s and 2010s, drawing lessons from operations in Iraq War (2003–2011) and Libya (2011).

Doctrine and Principles

CJOS doctrine codifies principles akin to those in Joint Publication 3-32 and NATO Allied Joint Publication series: joint command relationships, unity of effort, and adaptable force packages for expeditionary maneuver. It stresses sea control, power projection, littoral maneuver, and maritime security through integration of platforms like E-2 Hawkeye, F-35 Lightning II, MV-22 Osprey, and CH-53 helicopters. Principles also incorporate legal and normative frameworks such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for freedom of navigation operations and rules of engagement informed by treaties like the Geneva Conventions.

Organizational Structure and Participants

CJOS operations typically fall under combined joint headquarters structures involving entities such as Fleet Commander UK, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum. Participants include maritime services from countries including the Canada, Italy, Spain, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand alongside partner air forces like the Royal Air Force and United States Air Force. Civil-military coordination often involves organizations such as the United Nations, European Union External Action Service, and disaster-relief agencies during humanitarian assistance and non-combatant evacuation operations exemplified by collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Capabilities and Operational Components

Operational components encompass carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, expeditionary strike groups, mine countermeasures forces, and maritime patrol aviation including the P-8 Poseidon and Boeing P-3 Orion. Offensive and defensive capabilities include anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, air defense, ballistic missile defense employing systems like Aegis Combat System and SM-3 interceptors, cyber and electronic warfare units, and special operations forces such as United States Navy SEALs and Special Boat Service. Logistics and sustainment draw on assets like Military Sealift Command and prepositioning programs used in operations comparable to Operation Desert Shield.

Training, Exercises, and Interoperability

Interoperability is developed through multinational exercises including Exercise RIMPAC, Exercise Trident Juncture, Exercise Cobra Gold, Exercise Talisman Sabre, and Exercise BALTOPS. Training establishments such as the Naval War College, Royal Navy Staff College, and United States Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory contribute doctrine and wargaming. Standardization relies on codified procedures from organizations like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and cooperative programs such as the Combined Maritime Forces and the Proliferation Security Initiative to harmonize communications, logistics, and command-and-control systems.

Notable CJOS Operations and Case Studies

Case studies illustrating CJOS principles include multinational maritime campaigns in the Gulf of Aden counter-piracy operations, coalition maritime interdiction in the Persian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and amphibious interventions during the 2011 military intervention in Libya. Carrier-led strike operations such as those during Operation Enduring Freedom and combined humanitarian evacuations like those in Lebanon (2006) and Evacuation of Hmong (1975) reflect CJOS adaptability. Analysis of these operations highlights integration challenges with actors like the European Union Naval Force and doctrinal evolution responding to peer competitors exemplified by the Russian Navy and People's Liberation Army Rocket Force modernization.

Category:Maritime doctrine