The French Command for Joint Operations

PERMANENT ADAPTATION TO THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Replacing the État-major interarmées de force et d’entraînement (EMIA-FE), it meets the permanent need to adapt existing tools to the reality of contemporary operations.

The involvement of new actors and changes to enemy courses of action and methods, the ever-increasing integration of Joint enablers as well as the increasing importance of certain domains such as targeting and cyber defense are such that there is a genuine need for a headquarters able to prepare for and conduct the operations of the future.

Under the authority of the Assistant Chief of Defence Staff “operations” (sous-chef d’état-major "opérations"), the CPOIA is a unique organisation, able to conduct a joint military campaign whilst leading varied and diverse actions in the domain of preparedness for operations.

benefits the OPERATIONS

COMMAND : The CPOIA’s purpose is to provide operational-level command to a theatre of operations. Being Joint, this level of command provides the integration, combination, and evaluation of effects engendered by the action of the Force. It covers the military, civil-military, and political-military dimensions.

PLAN : Supporting the Centre de planification et de conduite des opérations (CPCO) - the French strategic headquarters, the CPOIA leads or takes part in ‘hot’ (that which relates to current operations) or ‘cold’ (contingency) planning such as the anticipation of Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations. All CPOIA personnel, regardless of their own expertise, are called upon to contribute to Joint Operations Planning Groups (JOPG) for operations or exercises.

PROJECT : All CPOIA personnel are deployable as part of a module opératif projetable (MOP -Deployable Operational Module) tailored to the mission:

- National or Multi-national planning module;

- Reinforcement of an existing headquarters;

- Nucleus of personnel providing the framework of a national or international headquarters.

Furthermore, CPOIA maintains an Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) on alert 24/7, able to service any requirement of the CPCO.

TRAIN : CPOIA provides the assurance of pre-deployment operational training for forces, both national and international, through the ownership and supervision of Joint training activities and the organisation of bilateral and multinational exercises. Additionally, the CPOIA evaluates national and overseas territories headquarters.

INSTRUCT : CPOIA involvement in the training of the armed forces and services focusses on the operational deployment of headquarters. As the national authority for operational-level expertise, the CPOIA is the focal point for all operational level training; it awards the individual qualifications which are required for deployment. This training takes into account Lessons Identified as well as nascent Joint capabilities and changes to doctrine.

DEVELOP : The effectiveness of operations relies on an ever-stronger integration and increasingly complex inter-component capabilities. CPOIA develops and maintains those capabilities by ensuring the coherence of 10¹of the 16 Joint domains whilst also exercising Command and/or functional authority over those existing organisations with niche Joint capabilities².

The three CPOIA pillars

To fulfil its missions, the CPOIA is organized around a command group and three divisions :

Operations division: the cornerstone of the CPOIA.

• Conducts planning tasks on behalf of the CPCO;
• Stand up the OLRT at readiness;
• Provides manpower for the Deployable Operational Modules (planning, reinforcement,
• Command teams);
• Provides manning for national or multinational headquarters (exercises and operations);
• Provides manning for the operational level of the high-readiness response force, the (Echelon
• National d’Urgence);
• Provides a pool of mentors for the training and evaluation of headquarters.

Preparedness division: integration and development of Joint capabilities.

• Manages and provides assurance of the Joint domains;
• Manages pre-deployment Joint operational training;
• Exercises Command and/or functional authority over Joint organisations³.

Command Support division: management and support arm of the CPOIA.

• Manages demands and output, allocating personnel;
• Provides HR Management;
• Provides budgetary management;
• Provides real-life and logistic support to CPOIA activity;
• Supervises information management.

Contact the CPOIA

COMMANDEMENT POUR LES OPÉRATIONS INTERARMÉES

Base aérienne 110

Allée du lieutenant Maurice Choron

60314 CREIL CEDEX

Tél. : +33 3 44 28 63 70

PNIA : 811 110 6370

1 Targeting, Information and Influence Operations, Terrain Analysis – Hydrography - Oceanography and Meteorology, Ammunition, Airborne Operations, Air Support, Ground-based Air Defence, Electronic Warfare, Combat Search and Rescue, Amphibious Operations.

2 Cf. CPOIA three pillars chart.

3 Établissement géographique interarmées,Centre interarmées de soutien météo-océanographique des forces,PôIe interarmées de traitement des dangers munitions et explosifs,Centre national de ciblage, Centre interarmées des actions sur l'environnement, Pôle Cyberdéfense.