Joint Task Force


 * JTF redirects here. For other uses, see JTF (disambiguation).

A joint task force is a 'joint' (multi-service) ad hoc military formation. The task force concept originated with the United States Navy around the beginning of the Second World War in the Pacific. 'Combined' is the British-American military term for multi-national formations.
 * CTF - Commander Task Force, sometimes Combined Task Force
 * CCTF - Commander Combined Task Force
 * CJTF - Combined Joint Task Force

There are two ways in which a U.S. or U.S.-allied task force may be assigned a number. The first is the originally naval scheme promulgated and governed by the U.S. Military Communications-Electronic Board, chaired by the Joint Staff J6. Task force numbers allocated under this scheme form the majority of the listings below.

The second is a by-product of the U.S. Army's procedure for forming task-organised forces for combat, differing from strictly doctrinally assigned table of organization and equipment organizations. A battalion, company, or brigade commander has very wide latitude in selecting a task force name, though often the name of the commander is used (e.g. Task Force Faith). This has often resulted in derivations from the originator unit's numerical designation being used. For example, when a special operations aviation unit was being formed in the late 1970s, the original unit drew heavily on personnel from the 158th Aviation. The designation chosen was Task Force 158, which later grew to become the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

No coordination appears to occur between U.S. Army task forces designated in this way, and the USMCEB scheme. This has resulted in simultaneous designations being used at the same time. For example, Combined Joint Task Force 76, possibly derived from the 76th Infantry Brigade, was in use in Afghanistan in 2004, but doubling up on the Task Force 76 designation used for decades by Amphibious Force, United States Seventh Fleet, in north Asia.

Numbered USMCEB joint task forces
Allied Communications Publication 113: Call Signs Book for Ships in its Annex B lists allocations of task force numbers from 1 to approximately 1000, allocated by the United States Military Communications-Electronic Board in blocks for use by the United States Department of Defense and allies.

Norman Polmar notes in Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 2005, that the task forces under the commanders of the Atlantic and Pacific Fleet are mainly for contingency purposes. They are employed for specific operations and exercises.

Others

 * Task Force for Business and Stability Operations - U.S. Department of Defense commercial facilitation organization, not an operational task force.
 * Task Force 6-26 - USSOCOM or JSOC task force
 * Task Force 777 - Egyptian special forces hostage rescue unit