A hotline dedicated to providing assistance to those affected by the disestablishment of U.S. Joint Forces Command went live this week.

People can call 461-7537 to access resources such as career coaching and preparation. The hotline number is being managed by Opportunity, Inc., which will provide resources through its current One-Stop Career Center program or One-on-One career coaching and preparation. A website currently is under construction, as well.

In addition to the hotline and website, a brick-and-mortar office in the Bridgeway Technology Center I building in Harbour View is set to open in late April.

Known as the Virginia Regional Center for USJFCOM Workforce Transition Center and Business Development, the center will also provide support to people affected by the closure.

The Suffolk City Council voted last month to accept about than $312,000 in state funding for the operation of the center.

The shutdown of JFCOM is part of a slate of cost-cutting measures proposed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year. The Department of Defense is expected to save more than $400 million per year after shedding about 50 percent of its personnel, mostly contractors.

In January, President Barack Obama approved the disestablishment of JFCOM as a four-star combatant command. It operates from a number of locations throughout the country, including facilities in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Contractors working for JFCOM will fare the worst in the cuts. About 80 percent of contractors will be dismissed, Odierno said. Currently, about 2,500 contractors work for JFCOM throughout all of its locations.

Core missions of JFCOM that will remain in the Hampton Roads area include joint training, joint force provider, joint concept and doctrine development and joint integration.

In Suffolk, the facility on College Drive will shrink from three buildings to one, the former Joint Warfighting Center, which will house the key functions under the Deputy Director Joint Staff J7 for Joint and Coalition Warfare.