General Discussion

The military services each have a senior flag officer -- general (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps) or admiral (Navy). They are known as: Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Staff of the AF, Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of Marine Corps. Together they are the JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF. They are responsible for recruiting; training; organizing; supplying; maintaining readiness. They ADVISE the civilian leadership -- that is Secretaries of the Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps), and Air Force. THEY DO NOT COMMAND UNITS. General Randy George was Army Chief of Staff.

COMMAND OF UNITS IN COMBAT is the job of the COMBATANT COMMANDERS. A combatant commander (CCDR) is a four-star general or admiral in charge of a Unified Combatant Command (COCOM).

A COCOM is responsible for conducting U.S. military operations in a specific geographic region or for a global mission. The Combatant Commanders report directly to the President and Secretary of Defense and they exercise command over all service forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force) in their area. A COCOM has units from Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps assigned to it to conduct combat in their geographic area (and other non-combat missions -- for example, earthquake and disaster relief; training of indigenous forces in their area).

For example: PACOM -- US Indo-Pacific Command -- is responsible for all military operations from the West Coast of the US into the Indian Ocean. The Army's 25th Infantry Division (based in Hawaii) and the 11th Airborne Division (based in Alaska) belong to PACOM -- CINCPAC (Commander-in-Chief Pacific Command) sends them to war, controls all their combat operations. Because that area is mostly water, CINCPAC is an admiral. The Chief of Staff of the Army is responsible to ensure that the Army divisions are trained, equipped, etc. (When John McCain -- a Navy pilot -- was shot down over North Vietnam, his father, Admiral McCain, was CINCPAC -- commander of all forces in and around Vietnam. The Vietnamese referred to McCain as "a crown prince" and, in deference to his father, they offered to release McCain. McCain refused to be released unless all US prisoners were released; his father refused to accept his release. McCain remained in captivity for over 6 years, came home only when all others were released.)


Geographic Combatant Commands
These commands are responsible for specific areas of responsibility (AOR):
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM): Stuttgart, Germany.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM): MacDill Air Force Base, Florida (Middle East, Central/South Asia).
U.S. European Command (EUCOM): Stuttgart, Germany.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM): Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii.U.S.
Northern Command (NORTHCOM): Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado (Homeland defense).
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM): Doral, Florida (Central/South America).

Functional Combatant Commands -- Global Missions
These commands manage global specialized operations:
U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM): Fort Meade, Maryland.
U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM): Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM): MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM): Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska (Strategic deterrence).
U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM): Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.


So -- the command of troops on the ground, at sea, or in the air goes from: President to Secretary of Defense to Combatant Command. The Chiefs of Staff are welcome to -- and they do -- advise, comment on, critique plans and actions by the Combatant Commanders although they have no authority to, say, issue orders to the 25th Infantry Division -- CINPAC alone does that, CINCPAC's orders come from the President through the SECDEF.

In the end it is the President's decision. Wise presidents listen to the Chiefs of Staff, to the Combatant Commands, and the civilian leadership. Shit-for-brains presidents watch John Wayne movies.