Reorganizing the COCOMs?

[Marauder06]

What do you all think about this idea?

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130811/DEFREG02/308110001/DoD-Weighs-Major-COCOM-Realignment

"WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is considering a major overhaul of its geographical combatant commands, possibly realigning oversight within hot-button areas of the world and eliminating thousands of military and civilian positions,according to defense sources..

While the plans for combatant command (COCOM) realignment and consolidation are still notional, sources say some options include:

■ Combining Northern Command and Southern Command to form what what some are calling “Americas Command” or “Western Command.”

■ Dissolving Africa Command and splitting it up among European Command and Central Command.

■ Expanding Pacific Command to include Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are part of Central Command.

In all, the realignments could shutter two COCOMs and eight service-supporting commands, totaling more than 5,000 people both uniformed and civilian."

 

[reed11b]

Would they actually get rid of the excess GO positions, or just create more worthless jobs for them elsewhere?
Reed

 

[AWP]

NORTHCOM + SOUTHCOM is a good idea.

If EUCOM could handle AFRICOM then why create the latter in the first place unless someone's willing to say "We did it for the senior O and NCO slots"? Africa is a serious issue in general and it seems to be a soccer ball in US foreign policy these days, kicked around to whoever doesn't want it.

AfPak to PACOM is the most intriguing to me for several reasons, but a lot of that rides on DOS and not the Pentagon.

To echo Reed, what about the GO's, SES, and SNCO slots? Cutting 5k slots is great, but the senior slots need to be cut. You could arguably relocate (and probably will knowing how theater staffs operate) the other positions, but we have too many E-9/ O-6 and above slots...they gots to go.

 

[DA SWO]

SecDef says there will be a GO/Sr NCO cut.

I like this idea, with some modifications.

4-Star America's Command with 2 (2 or 3 Star) subordinate command (North/South) Split combine the others into Eastern Command/Western Command (4-Star) with subordinate commands (Cent/Europe/Pacific/Africa).

We still have the named commands, only with much smaller staffs. Put the enablers (Intel, Log,Wx,etc) at the 4-star level and let units task them/ask for support directly.

I'd go further and have the services reduce named commands too, ACC gets PACAF/USAFE Hq functions, and we leave the numbered AF's in-theater (as the theater AF).

Flush USARPAC/USAREUR and leave the Corps Hq's. Flush the Corps Hq's in Korea/Japan and make them Div Hq's at most.

 

[0699]

I like any idea that cuts the dead wood. I don't know about the Army, but the Corps has more generals now (with ~200,000 Marines) than we did in WWII (with ~500,000 Marines).