Joint warfare

Its origins can be traced to the 1938 establishment of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the world's first joint higher command structure, though it should not be seen as the same level of "jointness" as U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The United States Department of Defense, which endorses joint warfare as an overriding doctrine for its forces, describes it as "team warfare", which "requires the integrated and synchronized application of all appropriate capabilities. The synergy that results maximizes combat capability in unified action." This priority on national unity of effort means practitioners of joint warfare must acknowledge the importance of the inter-agency process, including the priorities, capabilities, and resources of other non-uniformed agencies (such as intelligence services) in military planning.

Military operations conducted by armed forces from two or more allied countries are referred to by the U.S. Department of Defense as combined operations.