JUON stands for Joint Unmet Operational Need and is identified by a combatant commander [also referred to as a COCOM]. According to the Defense Science Board, the main purpose of a JUON is to identify and subsequently gain Joint Staff validation and resourcing of a solution desired within days or weeks, to meet a specific high-priority need. The scope of a combatant commander JUON will be limited to addressing urgent operational needs that: (1) fall outside of the established Service processes; and (2) most importantly, if not addressed immediately will seriously endangered personnel or pose a major threat to ongoing operations. They should not involve the development of a new technology or capability; however, the acceleration of an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration or minor modification of an existing system to adapt to a new or similar mission is within the scope of the JUON validation and resourcing process."[1]
Between 2005 and 2009, $50B was allocated for JUONS and spent in the following fashion: (1) 24.1% MRAP [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected] Taskforce, (2) 15.7% JIEDDO [Joint improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization], (3) ISR Task Force, (4) 1.5% Biometrics Task Force, (5) 1.5% C-RAM Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar, (6) .3% BETSS Targeting and Surveillance
According to the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), JUONs are only posted on the SIPRNET (Secret Internet Protocol Router Network). "It is the responsibility of the Designated Service or Agency (DS/A) to fulfill an assigned JUON. Hence, it is the DS/A's responsibility to either go to the contractor community at large or to go to a specific source that already has a solution. I would suspect that going to the community at large would prove time-consuming during a situation that calls for a rapid response. In other words, when time is of the essence, the DS/A will go for an off-the-shelf solution from somebody they probably already know."[2]
