10 U.S. Code § 526 - Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty
(a) Limitations.—The number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and the number of flag officers on active duty in the Navy, may not exceed the number specified for the armed force concerned as follows:
(1) For the Army, 231.
(2) For the Navy, 162.
(3) For the Air Force, 198.
(4) For the Marine Corps, 62.
(b) Limited Exclusion for Joint Duty Requirements.
(1) The Secretary of Defense may designate up to 310 general officer and flag officer positions that are joint duty assignments for purposes of chapter 38 of this title for exclusion from the limitations in subsection (a)....
*edit*
(5) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may designate up to 15 general and flag officer positions in the unified and specified combatant commands, and up to three general and flag officer positions on the Joint Staff, as positions to be held only by reserve component officers...
Joint, within the Pentagon, needs to go away. Nothing but waste, fraud, and abuse. When JFCOM got "disestablished", everything just moved up the Chesapeake and Potomac. Joint jobs are at the COCOMs and if brass wants "joint" credit, they need to serve at the COCOMs.
By my estimates, deleting the "Joint" billets at the Pentagon would avoid over $1B a year in staffing and overhead costs ... which was the point of disestablishing JFCOM in the first place
The geo-commands may have made sense at one time. We do not have the money to support a worldwide command structure. Too many four stars and staffs to be effective. Decisions need to be made to address the world as it exists now, not 40 years ago. Primarily the current structure just costs too much money we don't have. I worry it may not be effective against current threats as well.
"but there comes a point where there’s so many combatant commanders and so many service chiefs that I wonder at what point does the secretary of defense have a span of control where"
Everyone has their own fiefdom. The COCOMs control the assets while the service chiefs provide the resources. The COCOMs run the equipment and personal into the ground, while the service chiefs are left trying to replace both bodies and materials. Something has to give.
"I hate to be that guy", and I understand that you probably know this and used the common language abbreviation for simplicity sake...but, the proper abbreviation/acronym for a Combatant Command is CCMD. COCOM is the command authority that the Combatant Commander exercises. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
One thought could be to replace NORTHCOM with an AMERICASCOM and reduce SOUTHCOM to a sub-unified command. Make Space Force a real space force by rolling in Army Space and Missile Defense Command and disestablishing SPACECOM. Make USSF Space Operations Command a specified command. Maybe merge CENTCOM and AFRICOM since both are purely expeditionary, without permanent bases or permanent in-theater troops.
No one’s designed a coherent global strategy for the Navy in my lifetime. GN has frozen our strategic thinking for so long it’s time has come to end.
Placed here w/o further comment.
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10 U.S. Code § 526 - Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty
(a) Limitations.—The number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and the number of flag officers on active duty in the Navy, may not exceed the number specified for the armed force concerned as follows:
(1) For the Army, 231.
(2) For the Navy, 162.
(3) For the Air Force, 198.
(4) For the Marine Corps, 62.
(b) Limited Exclusion for Joint Duty Requirements.
(1) The Secretary of Defense may designate up to 310 general officer and flag officer positions that are joint duty assignments for purposes of chapter 38 of this title for exclusion from the limitations in subsection (a)....
*edit*
(5) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may designate up to 15 general and flag officer positions in the unified and specified combatant commands, and up to three general and flag officer positions on the Joint Staff, as positions to be held only by reserve component officers...
Joint, within the Pentagon, needs to go away. Nothing but waste, fraud, and abuse. When JFCOM got "disestablished", everything just moved up the Chesapeake and Potomac. Joint jobs are at the COCOMs and if brass wants "joint" credit, they need to serve at the COCOMs.
By my estimates, deleting the "Joint" billets at the Pentagon would avoid over $1B a year in staffing and overhead costs ... which was the point of disestablishing JFCOM in the first place
The geo-commands may have made sense at one time. We do not have the money to support a worldwide command structure. Too many four stars and staffs to be effective. Decisions need to be made to address the world as it exists now, not 40 years ago. Primarily the current structure just costs too much money we don't have. I worry it may not be effective against current threats as well.
"but there comes a point where there’s so many combatant commanders and so many service chiefs that I wonder at what point does the secretary of defense have a span of control where"
Everyone has their own fiefdom. The COCOMs control the assets while the service chiefs provide the resources. The COCOMs run the equipment and personal into the ground, while the service chiefs are left trying to replace both bodies and materials. Something has to give.
What are folks primary issues with the Goldwater-Nichols act?
What would you replace it with? Don’t forgets it’s effect on SOF when you’re coming up with a replacement please!
"I hate to be that guy", and I understand that you probably know this and used the common language abbreviation for simplicity sake...but, the proper abbreviation/acronym for a Combatant Command is CCMD. COCOM is the command authority that the Combatant Commander exercises. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
One thought could be to replace NORTHCOM with an AMERICASCOM and reduce SOUTHCOM to a sub-unified command. Make Space Force a real space force by rolling in Army Space and Missile Defense Command and disestablishing SPACECOM. Make USSF Space Operations Command a specified command. Maybe merge CENTCOM and AFRICOM since both are purely expeditionary, without permanent bases or permanent in-theater troops.
Amen. And fix the C2 abomination that exists in the Alaska JOA while you're at it, for God's sake.
Keep dreaming and raving. I have little patience with someone that is willfully ignorant. No further responses will be made.