Through the COVI, the Chief of the Defence Staff is able to exercise his functions as Operational Commander of the Armed Forces.

The Command was also in charge of managing the requests and execution of the competition activities of the Italian Armed Forces on the occasion of natural disasters or extraordinary events.

[5] The new version of the Command was introduced in order to facilitate the coordination of the joint operational components, which continue to remain directly under the Chief of the Defence Staff, in the five domains (land, sea, sky, space and cyber) maintaining the principle of uniqueness of command.

[7] The Command also has the function of managing and coordinating the interventions of the individual Armed Forces in the event of emergencies and natural disasters on the national territory, the task of developing the methodologies for the simulation of strategic and operational scenarios, as well as contributing to the elaboration of the military doctrine of NATO and of the other international organizations of which Italy is a part.

However, as of 2005, the COI mainly consisted of Army personnel:[3] The Joint Operations Command is organized as follows: In 2001 a first Legal Unit was established, and later evolved into an Office.

In addition, the Legal Office analyzes the legislative provisions and the acts of parliamentary inspection in its areas of competence, verifies the harmonization of the rules of engagement and operational orders, supports the Italian Defense Staff in drafting of technical agreements.

The department is also responsible for Operational Planning (contingency and urgency), as well as the organization and coordination of joint, national, inter-ministerial and multinational exercises.

[9] Among the main tasks, the ITA-JFHQ plans and conducts:[1][9] The Command has been used both abroad and on the Italian national territory.