هيكلة القيادة المركزية الأمريكية – US Central Command

   1. Unified Commands
   2. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
   3. Component Commands
   4. Area of Responsibility
   5. Comment
   6. Organization of the U.S. Military
   7. Why the Double System?
   8. The Operational Chain of Command
   9. The Administrative Chain of Command
   10. US. Military Chain of Command
   11. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)
   Figures

CENTCOM

U.S. Central Command

1. Unified Command:

U.S. Atlantic Command (USACOM)

U.S. European Command (EUCOM)

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)

U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM)

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM)

U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM)

U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM)

U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM)

2. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM):
3. Commander: CINCCENT
4. Commander’s Rank: 4-star
5. HQ Location: MacDill AFB, FL

3. Component Commands:
4. Army Component: U.S. Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT)
5. Navy Component: U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT)
6. Air Force Component: Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF)
7. Marine Component: Marine Forces Central Command (MARCENT)
8. Special Ops Component: Special Operations Forces Central Command (SOCCENT)

4. Area of Responsibility:

The 19 countries within the USCENTCOM area of responsibility include: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Yemen. This region contains more than 70 percent of the world’s oil reserves, making it vital to the economies of the United States and its allies. It also includes the major maritime trade routes linking the Middle East, Europe, South and East Asia and the Western Hemisphere, and maritime choke points such as the Straits of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.

5. Comment:

CENTCOM is the unified command which early in its existence was tasked with the planning and execution of the Liberation of Kuwait, Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm, in 1991

6. Organization of the U.S. Military

The organization of these pages is complicated by the multiple methods of organizing the military itself. First of all, these pages are primarily concerned with combat forces, although these do not in any way make up the totality of the forces or expenditures. Second of all, there are two major paradigms which these pages will use to present the information within to you, the viewer. There are two primary branches to the chain of command. The first is operational, and the second administrative.

7. Why the Double System?

This’ splitting’ of the responsibilities of command results, most recently, from the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. This act defined the roles and structure of the Defense Department as it exists today. Part of its effect was to create a distinction between operational and administrative command links. In a very very very condensed form, what this means for our guide is that there are Operational and Administrative command links, and I will try to differentiate between them in the guide pages. In essence, the Operational commander can tell the forces below him/her where to go and who to fight and how. The Administrative commander is responsible for staffing the force, managing the force’s budget, and other managerial tasks. One effect of this is to create tensions between the operational commanders and the administrative commanders. The operational commanders are tasked solely with ‘getting the job done’ and are explicitly removed from concerns such as funding and budgets. This means, however, that the adminstrative commanders are tasked with maintaining the forces and resources that the operational commanders need without having input into their utilization. While this may mean increased efficiency at warfighting, it makes budgeting more difficult as the requirements and inputs are now handled by separate units.

8. The Operational Chain of Command:

The Operational chain of command reflects the flow of authority for the operational direction of forces from the top of the chain down. There are four types of operational command relationships:

• Combatant Command (COCOM)
• Operational Control (OPCON)
• Tactical Control (TACON)
• Support

1. Combatant Command (COCOM)

COCOM is the command authority over assigned forces vested only in the commanders of combatant commands by title 10. US Code, section 164. or as directed by the President in the Unified Command Plan (UCP). It cannot be delegated or transferred by the commander. COCOM is the authority of a combatant commander to perform those functions of command over assigned forces involving organizing and employing commands and forces, assigning tasks,designating objectives, and giving authoritative direction over all aspects of military operations, joint training (or in the case of USSOCOM, training of assigned forces), and logistics necessary to accomplish the missions assigned to the command.

1. Operational Control (OPCON)

OPCON is inherent in COCOM and is the authority to perform those functions of command over subordinate forces involving organizing and employing commands and forces, assigning tasks, designating objectives, and giving authoritative direction necessary to accomplish the mission. OPCON includes authoritative direction over all aspects of military operations and joint training necessary to accomplish missions assigned to the command.

1. Tactical Control (TACON)

TACON is the command authority over assigned or attached forces or commands or military capability made available for tasking that is limited to the detailed and usually local direction and control of movements or maneuvers necessary to accomplish assigned missions or tasks. TACON may be delegated to and exercised by commanders at any echelon at or below the level of combatant command. TACON is inherent in OPCON.

1. Support

Support is a command authority. A support relationship is established by a superior commander between subordinate commanders when one organization should aid, protect, complement, or sustain another force. Support may be exercised by commanders at any echelon at or below the level of combatant command. Several categories of support have been defined for use within a combatant command as appropriate to better characterize the support that should be given. The four categories of support are: General, Mutual, Direct and Close.

9. The Administrative Chain of Command:

Administrative Control (ADCON)

ADCON is the direction or exercise of authority over subordinate or other organizations in respect to administration and support including organization of Service forces, control of resources and equipment, personnel management, unit logistics, individual and unit training, readiness, mobilization, demobilization, and discipline and other matters not included in the operational missions of the subordinate or other organizations. This is the authority necessary to fulfill Military Department statutory responsibilities for administration and support.

10. US. Military Chain of Command:

The President of the United States

…to…

The Secretary of Defense

…to…

The Unified Combatant Commanders

Note that while they may be included into the communications (not command) chain by a specific executive order, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) are not in the chain of command. This means that while the President or Secretary of Defense can choose to pass messages to the Unified Commanders through the Chairman of the JCS, the JCS does not have authority to command those units except through the direction of the President and/or the Secretary of Defense.

Together with their designated alternates, the President and Secretary of Defense are collectively referred to as the National Command Authorities. Some actions, especially some of those relating to Defense Conditions and nuclear weapons release, require commands from the NCA; no subordinate may generate them.

11. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS):

The Joint Chiefs of Staff consist of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The collective body of the JCS is headed by the Chairman (or the Vice Chairman in the Chairman’s absence), who sets the agenda and presides over JCS meetings.

Responsibilities as members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff take precedence over duties as the Chiefs of Military Services. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the President, Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council (NSC), however, all JCS members are by law military advisers, and they may respond to a request or voluntarily submit, through the Chairman, advice or opinions to the President, the Secretary of Defense, or NSC.

The executive authority of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has changed. In World War II, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff acted as executive agents in dealing with theater and area commanders, but the original National Security Act of 1947 saw the Joint Chiefs of Staff as planners and advisers, not as commanders of combatant commands. In spite of this, the 1948 Key West Agreement allowed members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve as executive agents for unified commands, a responsibility that allowed the executive agent to originate direct communication with the combatant command. Congress abolished this authority in a 1953 amendment to the National Security Act.

Today, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have no executive authority to command combatant forces. The issue of executive authority was clearly resolved by the Goldwater-Nichols DOD Reorganization Act of 1986: “The Secretaries of the Military Departments shall assign all forces under their jurisdiction to unified and specified combatant commands to perform missions assigned to those commands…”; the chain of command “runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense; and from the Secretary of Defense to the commander of the combatant command”.

1. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS)

The Goldwater-Nichols DOD Reorganization Act of 1986 identifies the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the senior ranking member of the Armed Forces. As such, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the President. He may seek the advice of and consult with the other JCS members and combatant commanders. When he presents his advice, he presents the range of advice and opinions he has received, along with any individual comments of the other JCS members.

Under the DOD Reorganization Act, the Secretaries of the Military Departments assign all forces to combatant commands except those assigned to carry out the mission of the Services, i.e., recruit, organize, supply, equip, train, service, mobilize, demobilize, administer and maintain their respective forces. The chain of command to these combatant commands runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense directly to the commander of the combatant command. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may transmit communications to the commanders of the combatant commands from the President and Secretary of Defense but does not exercise military command over any combatant forces.

The Act also gives to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff some of the functions and responsibilities previously assigned to the corporate body of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The broad functions of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are set forth in Title 10. United States Code, and detailed in DOD Directive 5100.1. In carrying out his duties, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff consults with and seeks the advice of the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the combatant commanders, as he considers appropriate.

1. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The DOD Reorganization Act of 1986 created the position of Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who performs such duties as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may prescribe. By law, he is the second ranking member of the Armed Forces and replaces the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in his absence or disability. Though the Vice Chairman was not originally included as a member of the JCS, Section 911 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1992 made him a full voting member of the JCS.

1. Assistant to The Chairman

This three-star oversees matters requiring close personal control by the Chairman with particular focus on international relations and politico-military concerns.

1. Military Service Chiefs

The military Service Chiefs are often said to “wear two hats.” As members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they offer advice to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the NSC. As the chiefs of the Military Services, they are responsible to the Secretaries of their Military Departments for management of the Services. The Service Chiefs serve for 4 years. By custom, the Vice Chiefs of the Services act for their chiefs in most matters having to do with day-to-day operation of the Services. The duties of the Service Chiefs as members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff take precedence over all their other duties.

1. The Joint Staff

The Joint Staff assists the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in accomplishing his responsibilities for: the unified strategic direction of the combatant forces; their operation under unified command; and for their integration into an efficient team of land, naval, and air forces. The ” Joint Staff” is composed of approximately equal numbers of officers from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force. In practice, the Marines make up about 20 percent of the number allocated to the Navy.

Since its establishment in 1947. statute has prohibited the Joint Staff from operating or organizing as an overall armed forces general staff; therefore, the Joint Staff has no executive authority over combatant forces.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after consultation with other JCS members and with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, selects the Director, Joint Staff, to assist in managing the Joint Staff. By law, the direction of the Joint Staff rests exclusively with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As the Chairman directs, the Joint Staff also may assist the other JCS members in carrying out their responsibilities.

In the joint arena, a body of senior flag or general officers assists in resolving matters that do not require JCS attention. Each Service Chief appoints an operations deputy who works with the Director, Joint Staff, to form the subsidiary body known as the Operations Deputies or the OPSDEPS. They meet in sessions chaired by the Director, Joint Staff, to consider issues of lesser importance or to review major issues before they reach the Joint Chiefs of Staff. With the exception of the Director, this body is not part of the Joint Staff. There is also a subsidiary body known as the Deputy Operations Deputies (DEPOPSDEPs), composed of the Vice Director, Joint Staff, and a two-star flag or general officer appointed by each Service Chief. Currently, the DEPOPSDEPs are the Service directors for plans. Issues come before the DEPOPSDEPs to be settled at their level or forwarded to the OPSDEPS. Except for the Vice Director, Joint Staff, the DEPOPSDEPs are not part of the Joint Staff.

Matters come before these bodies under policies prescribed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Director, Joint Staff, is authorized to review and approve issues when there is no dispute between the Services, when the issue does not warrant JCS attention, when the proposed action is in conformance with CJCS policy, or when the issue has not been raised by a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Actions completed by either the OPSDEPs or DEPOPSDEPs will have the same effect as actions by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.