JP 3-28, page 44

Chapter II II-10 JP 3-28 (1) JIACG. The JIACG is an interagency staff group that establishes regular, timely, and collaborative working relationships between civilian and military operational planners. The JIACG provides the CCDR with the capability to collaborate at the operational level with other USG departments and agencies. It is composed of USG civilian and military experts assigned to the CCDR and tailored to meet the requirements of that supported CCDR. It is the CCDR’s primary interagency forum to share information, analyze ongoing activities, and anticipate future interagency actions, implications, and/or consequences. (2) Agency Representatives and Command Representatives. Subject matter experts (SMEs) and LNOs from key partner agencies and commands facilitate effective two- way communication, coordination, and cooperation. A formally established liaison and representative link between the CCMD and the partner agency is beneficial to both organizations. Specific focus should be on agency or command LNOs whose organizations play a key part in successful and seamless execution of DSCA operations. Regardless of mission, having key partner agency and command representatives is essential for the CCDR conducting operations in a US territory. Equally important, CCMDs may locate a command representative or LNO at key partner agencies commensurate with their operational requirements. On-the-ground agency representatives and command LNOs should typically be located where they will be most useful, supportive of command activities and beneficial to their parent agency or command. However, they should also have an ongoing interface with the CCMD JIACG. This maximizes their participation in support of the interagency process and benefits their particular agency or command. (3) Joint Field Office (JFO). The JFO is a temporary, federal, multiagency coordination center established locally to facilitate field-level domestic incident management activities related to prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery when activated by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The JFO provides a central location for coordination of federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, nongovernmental, and private-sector organizations with primary responsibility for activities associated with threat response and incident support. When multiple JFOs are established to support an incident, one of the JFOs may be identified (typically in the most heavily impacted area) to serve as the primary JFO and provide strategic leadership and coordination for the overall incident management effort, as designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The JFO organizational structure is built upon NIMS, but does not impede, supersede, or impact the incident command post ICS command structure. CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT FOR DEFENSE SUPPORT OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES The lessons learned on improving interagency coordination and command and control options from previous defense support of civil authorities (DSCA) operations, such as Hurricane Katrina, paid tremendous dividends during Hurricane Sandy in 2013. As Sandy made landfall, two of the affected states, New Jersey and New York, established dual-status commanders (DSCs) for response and recovery. Partnerships among