By Engineers, For Engineers

Reflecting on 20 Years of JEOC

By Michelle Kokoski and Ed Lefler

July 25, 2026 | Engineer, 2026 E-Edition

Read Time: < 6 mins

In Lieutenant General (LTG) Robert B. Flowers’ final message to the Engineer Regiment before his retirement in 2004, he reflected on the future of the force: “Developing a joint and expeditionary mindset is essential for the 21st century Army to succeed. I’m convinced that if there’s any group that can thrive in a joint environment, it’s engineers”.1

Although LTG(R) Flowers’ remarks are more than two decades old, they remain especially relevant today. Engineers do thrive in the joint environment—but not without each other. In 2004, the Joint Engineer Operations Course (JEOC) concept was born, launching in March 2006 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Lessons learned from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts revealed significant knowledge gaps across the engineer community regarding capabilities outside their own services. Aside from a brief 3–4-hour block of instruction offered inconsistently across service schools, formal joint leader education tailored to engineers did not exist until JEOC.

Since its inception, the course has welcomed senior noncommissioned officers, warrant officers, officers, Department of War civilian leaders, and international allies from all service branches and components. To date, JEOC has conducted 112 courses across four service engineer schools and shared lessons learned with more than 5,350 students. After 20 years, the original intent of JEOC remains unchanged: it continues to be designed by engineers, for engineers.2

The Joint Environment and the 2025 National Military Strategy

In 2004, Commander Steven C. Fischer described how the definition of ‘jointness’ has evolved over time. Initially, jointness meant deconfliction—‘ensuring sister forces weren’t stepping on each other.’ He later noted that jointness had come to mean interoperability, with services working together effectively. Fischer anticipated that future jointness would center on interdependence, with leaders responsible for implementing joint engineering on the battlefield. Today, this definition can be refined as the transregional integration of all services operating across multidomain operations. In short, joint is multidomain integration. Engineers must not only work together technically—they must depend on one another for success. The joint framework therefore requires interdependence and interoperability across all domains: land, maritime, air, space, cyberspace, the electromagnetic spectrum, and information operations.

The 2025 National Military Strategy (NMS) places significant emphasis on the joint mission—unsurprisingly and appropriately. Its continuum of strategic direction focuses on three areas: force employment, force development, and force design. These overlapping horizons directly affect service engineers across every branch. Engineers have continually adapted to a changing operational environment since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was founded by the Continental Congress in 1775. Adaptation is not new; the speed at which we must now operate is. Sharing lessons learned within the engineering community is more important than ever. Beyond the Joint Operational and Engineering competencies gained in JEOC, the opportunity to build in-person relationships with engineers from other services remains invaluable.

Course Scope:

The JEOC program recently updated its course material to focus on the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. JEOC is a two-phase, joint-certified course designed to better prepare service engineers for duty on a combatant command (CCMD) staff or a joint task force (JTF) engineer staff. The course helps operationalize an engineer’s perspective and builds a deeper understanding of joint concepts, service-specific engineer capabilities, and capacity limitations.

Phase I is a seven-module online distributed learning course that provides the foundational knowledge required to understand joint engineering within the JTF framework and to serve effectively on a joint staff. This phase introduces students to joint operations, joint planning, joint warfare, joint engineer doctrine, and sister-service engineer capabilities.

Phase II is a five-day, classroom-based and network-focused learning environment centered on the joint engineering operational environment. It is designed for small-group practical exercises and discussions among engineers of all ranks and branches.

As today’s operational environment demands engineers who can think beyond their own formation, service, or domain, Phase II offers a critical opportunity to share lessons learned in person. Whether supporting large-scale combat operations, enabling theater logistics, or integrating effects across the joint force, engineers remain essential to mission success. JEOC facilitators and students continue to share operational perspectives, build lasting professional relationships, and strengthen joint competencies.

Target audience: Selected engineer officers (O-3 to O-5), senior noncommissioned officers (E-7 through E-9), warrant officers (WO-2 to WO-4), and government civilians who may serve on a joint staff.

JEOC’s success over the past 20 years has depended on engineers willing to invest in the next generation of leaders. Serving as a small-group facilitator or guest speaker directly shapes how the joint force fights and wins future conflicts. Facilitators and guest speakers bring operational experience, lessons learned, and real-world perspective into the classroom, helping bridge the gap between doctrine and execution in support of combatant commanders and joint task force operations.

Small Group Facilitator and Guest Speakers: Interested in serving as a small group facilitator or guest speaker? Reach out!

Enrollment: The new JEOC PHASE I distance learning (dL) pilot course is up and running on the US Army ATIS-Educate website here: https://learn.atis.army.mil/education/course/index.php.

As a joint staff certified course, graduates receive 1.5 joint professional military education (JPME) points along with professional development hours (PDH) and continuing education units (CEU) upon completion.

For additional support, questions, or comments regarding JEOC, contact the Joint Engineer Education Program Office, United States Army Engineer School. The point of contact is Mr. Ed Lefler, P.E., PMP., Course Director: edward.r.lefler.civ@army.mil, (573) 563-5088.

Notes

*The contents of this article do not represent the official views of, nor are they endorsed by, the U.S. Army, the Department of War (DoW), or the U.S. Government.

*This article was edited with the assistance of AI tools, and subsequently reviewed and edited by relevant Department of War (DoW) personnel to ensure accuracy, clarity, and compliance with DoW policies and guidance.