So, COCOM Reform?

I'm here for it

As I reminded everyone again last summer, I have a few foundation blocks for the reforms I believe must be made to fix the systemic malfunction in the USA’s military bureaucracy:

• Root-and-branch replacement of our accretion-encumbered acquisition system.

• Repeal and replacement of Goldwater-Nichols.

• COCOM reform.

• …and as always, Joint delenda est.

In the new Trump Administration, there has been talk of all four corners—but I am a patient man. They have only been in office two months and don’t even have their full team in place.

On Wednesday, CNN’s Natasha Bertrand published a report that got my attention. Odds are this is from preliminary working papers—I really have no idea—but this is a great starting point to clean things up.

The Pentagon is considering making significant cuts to the top of the US military as the Trump administration seeks to shrink the federal government, according to a briefing document obtained by CNN and a US defense official.

The plans under consideration include consolidating combatant commands, possibly eliminating a directorate that oversees development, training and education for the joint force, and halting the expansion of US Forces Japan.

Among the eye-catching measures being considered are merging European Command and Africa Command into a single command based in Stuttgart, Germany, and combining US Northern and Southern commands into a single AMERICOM command, according to the document obtained by CNN.

In summary, EUCOM would return to what existed 14 years ago, and the Western Hemisphere would be consolidated.

Things have changed before.

This was what they were as of changes in 2002.

Here is what it moved to in 2011, and remains the same today.

This is a very reasonable number:

The Pentagon has primarily focused in recent weeks on eliminating large numbers of civilian employees, with the ultimate goal of cutting 5-8% of the department’s civilian workforce, officials have said.

I don’t know of any serious people who think the DOD workforce is understaffed or that the bureaucracy is still fit-to-purpose. Some with skin in the game will defend both…but you can smell it.

I can defend this all day long and twice on Sunday.

Another option to cut costs is to stop the planned expansion of US Forces Japan, the document says. That could save about $1.1 billion in personnel and command and control upgrades, it notes, but could also create “political risk” for the US in Japan and reduce the scope of command and control in the Pacific.

Any forces stationed in Japan, and any permanent structures in place, are not just under the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force’s hundreds of conventional ballistic missiles. Additionally, Japan is a sovereign nation with agency. You have significant political risk to any forces stationed there. I can come up with a whole series of scenarios where we would not be allowed to use forces based in Japan for a Pacific fight. We are much better off developing expanded expeditionary capabilities to move CONUS-based forces on a global basis as needed, as opposed to counting on the alignment and good graces of other nations.

I’m agnostic about the below, but if you can’t explain in 90 seconds why this can’t happen, then put it on the list. If nothing else, moving more people out of DC is an exceptionally wise move. Suffolk, VA is a fine town…though I think they are referring to the “Suffolk Complex” which is really west Norfolk.

The document also proposes significant cuts to the Joint Staff, including “divesting” from the J7, a Joint Staff Directorate that oversees joint training and education for the services; firing nearly 400 civilians working in Joint Staff’s future operations cell, cyber, and training; and moving hundreds of Joint Staff employees to a base in Suffolk, Virginia.

Another option is to eliminate the Joint Information Operations Warfare Center, which the document describes as “redundant.” JIOWC was created by US Strategic Command in 2005 to help execute the US military’s information operations.

To get real COCOM reform, I believe Congress will have to dive into Title X, but, again, things are just getting started.

h/t John.