Permanent Joint Headquarters

File:Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) at Northwood MOD 45152478.jpg

Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) at Northwood MOD

The Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) is the British tri-service headquarters from where all overseas military operations are planned and controlled. It is situated at Northwood Headquarters in Northwood, London. The Permanent Joint Headquarters is commanded by the Chief of Joint Operations (CJO), the position of which is currently held by Lieutenant General Nicholas Perry.

History

Major General Christopher Wallace led the team that began establishing the headquarters from 1994.<ref name=tele>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Senior officers in the Army and RAF did not welcome this initiative and Wallace had to deploy his considerable skills of advocacy to win that battle"<ref name=tele/> (to establish the new joint headquarters).

The Permanent Joint Headquarters was established on 1 April 1996 to enhance the operational effectiveness and efficiency of UK-led joint, potentially joint and multi-national operations, and to exercise operational command of UK forces assigned to multinational operations led by others.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wallace was appointed as CJO in the rank of lieutenant general. The PJHQ started to assume responsibility for military operations worldwide (fully operational) on 1 August 1996.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 35-hectare Northwood Headquarters site has belonged to the RAF since 1938.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

By mid-1998, a short-notice deployable headquarters commanded by a Brigadier-equivalent officer, the Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ) was being established within PJHQ. The JFHQ was an outgrowth of the PJHQ's J3 Operations staff. The JFHQ was described as 'capable of deploying into the field at very short notice,' by its first commander, Brigadier David Richards. Richards was appointed as Chief Joint Rapid Deployment Force Operations, and also to expand the concept that underpinned its creation, the Joint Rapid Reaction Forces.<ref>Anthony Stone, 'Joint approach to defence: Three into One Will Go,' Soldier magazine, May 1999, 36, and General David Richards, 'Taking Command: The Autobiography,' Headline Publishing Group, 2014, 95-97.</ref> The JRRFs were to be "a pool of highly capable force elements, maintained at high and very high readiness,"<ref>PJHQ Brief circa July 2000, via liaison officer at PJHQ</ref> from which the UK was to meet all short notice contingencies. Initially planned to have a staff of 24, Richards expanded the JFHQ to 55 strong, 'something our training and experience on exercise was proving necessary.'<ref>Richards 2014, 99.</ref>

In 2007-2008, the PJHQ' s budget was estimated around £475 million.<ref name=":0" />

In 2010, the PJHQ and its 600 staff officers and enlisted personnel moved to a contemporary building in Northwood, London.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> For the first time, all PJHQ staff were gathered under the same roof.<ref name=":1" />

Among the operations supervised by PJHQ have been Operation Veritas (Afghanistan, 2001); Operation Telic (2003 invasion of Iraq); Operation Herrick (UK operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, from 2006); and Operation Pitting (evacuation of UK nationals and at-risk Afghanistanis from Kabul in 2021).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Mission and duties

The PJHQ's mission is as follows:<ref name="PJHQ at mod.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

"CJO is to exercise operational command of UK forces assigned to overseas joint and combined operations; and to provide politically aware military advice to the MOD in order to achieve MOD UK’s strategic objectives on operations"{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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PJHQ operates cyber operations in coordination with the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

There are certain areas that the headquarters will not be involved in:<ref name="PJHQ at mod.com" />

• Strategic Nuclear Deterrent (Royal Navy Northwood Headquarters is responsible)
• Defence of the UK Home Base, Territorial Waters and Airspace
• Northern Ireland (Army HQ Northern Ireland is responsible)
• Counter-terrorism in UK (Home Office)
• NATO Article V (General War) (NATO Military Command Structure)

As of November 2022, there were 567 military and civil service personnel assigned to PJHQ.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Commanders

The Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) is the appointment held by the three star ranked officer that leads PJHQ.<ref>Template:Usurped 30 March 1999</ref>

Date of Appointment	Rank	Name	Branch
April 1996	Lieutenant General	Sir Christopher Wallace	Template:Army
February 1999	Vice Admiral	Sir Ian Garnett	Template:Navy
August 2001	Lieutenant General	Sir John Reith	Template:Army
26 July 2004	Air Marshal	Sir Glenn Torpy	Template:Air force
March 2006	Lieutenant General	Sir Nicholas Houghton	Template:Army
13 March 2009	Air Marshal	Sir Stuart Peach	Template:Air force
December 2011	Lieutenant General	Sir David Capewell	Template:Marines
January 2015	Lieutenant General	Sir John Lorimer	Template:Army
June 2017	Vice Admiral	Tim Fraser	Template:Navy
April 2019	Vice Admiral	Sir Ben Key	Template:Navy
November 2021	Lieutenant General	Sir Charles Stickland	Template:Marines
November 2024	Lieutenant General	Nick Perry	Template:Army

See also

• Northwood Headquarters

References

• Vice Admiral Sir Ian Garnett, "My Job: The Challenge of Joint Command," RUSI Journal, August 1999
• Vice Admiral Sir Ian Garnett, "PJHQ: The Heart of UK Defence Capability," RUSI Journal, April 2000

External links

• Template:Official website