Thanks for articluating what many of us have been advocating within the ranks for decades!
"...combining US Northern and Southern commands into a single AMERICOM command"...make it happen! Too many times as the SOF rep to the GCC & TSOC, I arrived at the Doral HQ before everyone else to an empty parking lot, and when I left after sundown, the lot had been vacant for several hours. Combine into AMRICOM and move it to Beaumont, TX...all the double and triple dipping retired civilians will self-select and retire...more DOGE savings plus DOD efficiencies gained! Salud!
As long as the baseline criteria included “what will best prepare us for a war in Europe or Asia in 2027?” I’m all in. Nothing against change - for the right reason. Maybe it makes sense to model - and even wargame - the proposed changes.
One slight recommendation...what will best strengthen our military to the point that we can deter war in Europe or Asia in 2027 and beyond...i.e. our enemies choose to not engage the US militarily. Clearly we are not there today but we have made great progress in the past two months.
Worked on the Joint Staff (Suffolk version) as contractor then GS for 20 years. Defining what the Joint Staff needs to do (task) to support the chairman in a meaningful way (purpose) will help determine the size and location of the staff needed. Working through the J-codes (1-8? 9?..??) would be a reasonable place to start, (necessary) but is by no means (IMO) sufficient. Joint training (J7) has received harsh criticism over the years for being an "unfunded mandate" (along with Joint "standards" and "capability requirements", "experimentations", etc). Pretty much a "Gordian Knot", truth be told. Perhaps Hegseth can channel his inner Alexander and wield a trusty sword...
I'm not sure you can get all this past the judge who will be protecting the Joint Civilians. And isn't there a judicial order out now that prevents the CO of any ship from using more than standard rudder?
This story interested me from the CNN angle. The information contained within the report itself is, indeed, interesting and newsworthy, but why CNN? Why Natasha Bertrand? Who is this comely lass, Natasha Bertrand (Natasha, as in Boris)? Here's part of her bio: "Previously, Bertrand covered national security and politics for POLITICO, The Atlantic and Business Insider. She graduated from Vassar College in 2014 with a dual degree in political science and philosophy."
Natasha writes "Get Trump" (and Musk, and Hegseth) stories for CNN. Look at her company bio and read the headlines on her stories. CNN will drop this current story quickly, because, try as they might, there's nothing juicy in it for the "Get Trump-Musk-Hegseth" crowd.
AFRICOM simply does not need to exist. All the component commanders (except SOCAF) are duel hatted anyway, so all it adds is a COCOM headquarters staff to pay for.
Plus, let's be honest here. You have a TON of Army and AF people that just love living in Germany and having a taxpayer funded European vacation.
Deleting AFRICOM could be short sighted in the long game happening on that continent. However, I fully agree with eliminating the vacation.... If Sailors belong on Ships, and Ships belong at sea, then AFRICOM belongs in AFRICA. Move 'em down to DJ or another location closer to their AOR.
My understanding is that as much commercial air travel that is needed to support the command, it is easier to get around in Aftica if starting from a European hub. Plus, which country would be secure and stable enough to be the base? Agreed though, the look of having it off continent is real bad and having it on continent would be a strong symbol.
I was with SOCAF in 2020-2021. The Sahel and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, HOA, and the Mediterranean coast are the three major AORs there. HOA clearly should be in CENTCOM. Nearly all the population of N. Africa lives by the sea coast and directly impacts Europe (hell, the Russians are fighting there). It’s that first AOR I mentioned that really IS anything that should be COCOM-esq but definely not a full four star COCOM. We don’t even have a huge military presence there for a ton of reasons and DoS runs the show. Well, I will say that maybe now DoS doesn’t have as much influence now that USAID is dead.
Brent, I am a fan of this idea. Given the lack of hardware in the region right now, a 3* command is probably more fitting...so long as it bases itself on the continent. But without that 4th star there is risk for African issues to become even more deprioritized at our peril.
HOA moving to CENTCOM could be a good fit, particularly from a maritime perspective. N.Africa falling under EUCOM world closer align with realities. That just leaves the Sub Saharan - which is no small problem set with the tyranny of distance being a nightmare.
There is a lot of potential in Africa - both for wonderful partnerships, and for great risks if not managed properly. Our adversaries certainly see potential.
Now if I were King for the Day and had a blank sheet of paper with a mandate to redefine/redraw COCOM and Service C2 structures, man, would that be fun...
I have only been reading Cdr S for a few years. He often calls for the end (or significant reduction) in "jointness." But I've yet to come across a post in which he explains his opposition to joint concepts. Can he (or someone else) direct me to a post where he explains what's wrong with joint?
Do a search on my Substack for “Joint” and then head on over to my OB Blog on blogspot (link on Substack page) and do the same. It is all there. BTW, I have no issue with the concept of “Joint” — just the bureaucratic structures we’ve created around the idea that does little but warp career paths and hobble innovation.
I don't dare speak for the Cdr., but the mission of the Navy, and that of the Army are fundamentally different; they carry out different functions and fulfill different missions. A Navy keeps open the waterways, the Army takes land from an enemy. The tasks performed by officer corps of the Army is entirely unlike what an Naval Officer is expected to do.
The goal of the Navy is to train officers for command of a ship at sea. Sending them off to see how the Army mule-trains can be used to resupply troops in combat, or watching Air Force personnel playing videogames, does nothing to help them learn to command a ship at sea. Worse, it takes them away from jobs which could help them; shipyard operations, or running a damage control school, for example.
Jointness is caused by our silly multiplication of Forces. The Army has to be act jointly with the Air Force because the Congress took away their air arm. Fortunately the Navy/Marine Corps team has their own air "force," so sailors and marines don't gain anything by working with the Army or the other forces.
Considering the watercraft the Army has and how SDDC will get stuff off the ships, and how the Navy has certain missions, it is where you at least need to speak the same language.
It's pretty sad that the Army alone couldn't overpower a third world force with poor morale. Seems like "jointness" was guys crowding in where they didn't belong just to say "I was there."
Goldwater Nichols needs to go - and along with it the bloated navy acquisition bureaucracy of bean counters, PowerPoint spin doctors, and various other bullshit artists - both civilian and blue suit. Establish an organization which answers to the Fleet with actual technical, ship design, operational and maintenance experience that can put together a spec and drawings package for a mature design that can be built to meet fleet requirements. Of course it’s going to be a real challenge to find the engineers, technicians, maintainers and - people with real financial, business expertise to do this. And get the organization the hell out of DC and near a fleet depot or operational base. Years ago, around 2002, we were assembled to listen to another newly appointed SES who was now the deputy for COMNAVSEA. This guy told us that “the number 1 job of NAVSEA was is to move money - period.” And we have witnessed the result of this irresponsible stupidity in the LCS, cruiser and the frigate programs. Of course there’s a much larger picture with our industrial base, but you cannot expect a builder to build something without showing what you need . NAVSEA was never ideal, nor is any ship design - even with the best at the helm, but to simply farm out our brains to “industry” as the current acquisition authorities have done has pissed away billions and years for next to nothing in return .
So much for the customer - the sailor and marine who needs to fight the ship.
This is the danger of privatization. Once, we could design, and build, warships in naval shipyards with naval personnel. In my lifetime we decided to destroy that capability and let mult-national corporations take over 100% of our warship construction.
And then the Navy, in it's infinite wisdom, decided to stop buying ships for a few years. And then is all confused as to why it is so hard to start up again. And where did all those companies that make the parts go?
The US has the engineers. The issue it NAVSEA has zero clue how to build engineering teams.
Been luck to work and build some amazing engineering teams and always amazes me from the college coops to the oldest crusty mechanical engineer who builds rally cars in the weekends.
One thing is always the same a few amazing leaders who builds rally cars the culture instills the culture then make sure they have JUST enough to do their jobs. It’s amazing what has been created.
Some scarcity is needed to force economy of action & creativity. Also, moving the teams to the edge of the problem is a necessity.
Thanks for articluating what many of us have been advocating within the ranks for decades!
"...combining US Northern and Southern commands into a single AMERICOM command"...make it happen! Too many times as the SOF rep to the GCC & TSOC, I arrived at the Doral HQ before everyone else to an empty parking lot, and when I left after sundown, the lot had been vacant for several hours. Combine into AMRICOM and move it to Beaumont, TX...all the double and triple dipping retired civilians will self-select and retire...more DOGE savings plus DOD efficiencies gained! Salud!
"AMRICOM"? Too much time in Jihadi Land must have rubbed off..."AMERICOM! Eff Ya!"
Beaumont! Been there. It's-----flat.
Beaumont? You chose violence sir. Perhaps a less extreme and practical choice, such as El Paso, would be in order. No Doral folks moving there either.
El Paso would work as well, fine sir!
And a fundamental revamp of statutory promotion regs.
As in DOPMA? I.e. if you are doing a good job in grade, meet physical requirements, you can stay an LT or SN or PO3 forever?
Just clarifying before I jump in with non-germane ranting.
Yes please
Consider undoing the INDOPACOM border move.
Time to eliminate duplicate type commanders. Airpac, Airlant, surfpac, Surfant
Numbered fleet commanders can go. They are all shore based.
As long as the baseline criteria included “what will best prepare us for a war in Europe or Asia in 2027?” I’m all in. Nothing against change - for the right reason. Maybe it makes sense to model - and even wargame - the proposed changes.
One slight recommendation...what will best strengthen our military to the point that we can deter war in Europe or Asia in 2027 and beyond...i.e. our enemies choose to not engage the US militarily. Clearly we are not there today but we have made great progress in the past two months.
Why do we need to go to war for Europe and Asia? That might be the first question.
The answer to your question is that means nuclear war, so start at the “end state.”
Would like to change to deter & win war in Europe & Asia.
But no issue streamlining and reducing Flag billets to keep things tighter.
Worked on the Joint Staff (Suffolk version) as contractor then GS for 20 years. Defining what the Joint Staff needs to do (task) to support the chairman in a meaningful way (purpose) will help determine the size and location of the staff needed. Working through the J-codes (1-8? 9?..??) would be a reasonable place to start, (necessary) but is by no means (IMO) sufficient. Joint training (J7) has received harsh criticism over the years for being an "unfunded mandate" (along with Joint "standards" and "capability requirements", "experimentations", etc). Pretty much a "Gordian Knot", truth be told. Perhaps Hegseth can channel his inner Alexander and wield a trusty sword...
If Trump is really serious about reforming the Navy and maritime environment then he should appoint CDR Salamander to a high position. Undersecretary?
Pete: But, I already paid for a subscription. Would I get any money back?
No. But you get a credit toward a new Tesla.
I'm not sure you can get all this past the judge who will be protecting the Joint Civilians. And isn't there a judicial order out now that prevents the CO of any ship from using more than standard rudder?
This story interested me from the CNN angle. The information contained within the report itself is, indeed, interesting and newsworthy, but why CNN? Why Natasha Bertrand? Who is this comely lass, Natasha Bertrand (Natasha, as in Boris)? Here's part of her bio: "Previously, Bertrand covered national security and politics for POLITICO, The Atlantic and Business Insider. She graduated from Vassar College in 2014 with a dual degree in political science and philosophy."
Natasha writes "Get Trump" (and Musk, and Hegseth) stories for CNN. Look at her company bio and read the headlines on her stories. CNN will drop this current story quickly, because, try as they might, there's nothing juicy in it for the "Get Trump-Musk-Hegseth" crowd.
AFRICOM simply does not need to exist. All the component commanders (except SOCAF) are duel hatted anyway, so all it adds is a COCOM headquarters staff to pay for.
Plus, let's be honest here. You have a TON of Army and AF people that just love living in Germany and having a taxpayer funded European vacation.
Deleting AFRICOM could be short sighted in the long game happening on that continent. However, I fully agree with eliminating the vacation.... If Sailors belong on Ships, and Ships belong at sea, then AFRICOM belongs in AFRICA. Move 'em down to DJ or another location closer to their AOR.
My understanding is that as much commercial air travel that is needed to support the command, it is easier to get around in Aftica if starting from a European hub. Plus, which country would be secure and stable enough to be the base? Agreed though, the look of having it off continent is real bad and having it on continent would be a strong symbol.
Nigeria is sub-saharan Africa's Center of Gravity. It has got problems, but lots of potential.
I was with SOCAF in 2020-2021. The Sahel and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, HOA, and the Mediterranean coast are the three major AORs there. HOA clearly should be in CENTCOM. Nearly all the population of N. Africa lives by the sea coast and directly impacts Europe (hell, the Russians are fighting there). It’s that first AOR I mentioned that really IS anything that should be COCOM-esq but definely not a full four star COCOM. We don’t even have a huge military presence there for a ton of reasons and DoS runs the show. Well, I will say that maybe now DoS doesn’t have as much influence now that USAID is dead.
Brent, I am a fan of this idea. Given the lack of hardware in the region right now, a 3* command is probably more fitting...so long as it bases itself on the continent. But without that 4th star there is risk for African issues to become even more deprioritized at our peril.
HOA moving to CENTCOM could be a good fit, particularly from a maritime perspective. N.Africa falling under EUCOM world closer align with realities. That just leaves the Sub Saharan - which is no small problem set with the tyranny of distance being a nightmare.
There is a lot of potential in Africa - both for wonderful partnerships, and for great risks if not managed properly. Our adversaries certainly see potential.
COCOM overhaul is long overdue. We've been saying this for at least two decades.
Same too for the NATO C2 structure.
Ditto for Navy's TYCOMs and Numbered Fleets.
Now if I were King for the Day and had a blank sheet of paper with a mandate to redefine/redraw COCOM and Service C2 structures, man, would that be fun...
Another thought, Greenland should be under AMERICOM and anything to the southwest of the GIUK Gap and west of 18W should also be under AMERICOM.
I have only been reading Cdr S for a few years. He often calls for the end (or significant reduction) in "jointness." But I've yet to come across a post in which he explains his opposition to joint concepts. Can he (or someone else) direct me to a post where he explains what's wrong with joint?
Do a search on my Substack for “Joint” and then head on over to my OB Blog on blogspot (link on Substack page) and do the same. It is all there. BTW, I have no issue with the concept of “Joint” — just the bureaucratic structures we’ve created around the idea that does little but warp career paths and hobble innovation.
I don't dare speak for the Cdr., but the mission of the Navy, and that of the Army are fundamentally different; they carry out different functions and fulfill different missions. A Navy keeps open the waterways, the Army takes land from an enemy. The tasks performed by officer corps of the Army is entirely unlike what an Naval Officer is expected to do.
The goal of the Navy is to train officers for command of a ship at sea. Sending them off to see how the Army mule-trains can be used to resupply troops in combat, or watching Air Force personnel playing videogames, does nothing to help them learn to command a ship at sea. Worse, it takes them away from jobs which could help them; shipyard operations, or running a damage control school, for example.
Jointness is caused by our silly multiplication of Forces. The Army has to be act jointly with the Air Force because the Congress took away their air arm. Fortunately the Navy/Marine Corps team has their own air "force," so sailors and marines don't gain anything by working with the Army or the other forces.
Don't get me started about how there's nothing Joint about a military port.
Considering the watercraft the Army has and how SDDC will get stuff off the ships, and how the Navy has certain missions, it is where you at least need to speak the same language.
Tell that to the guys who planned Desert Storm. I was a Navy guy in the Black Hole working that O plan. Joint ops onost of the air missions.
It's pretty sad that the Army alone couldn't overpower a third world force with poor morale. Seems like "jointness" was guys crowding in where they didn't belong just to say "I was there."
Goldwater Nichols needs to go - and along with it the bloated navy acquisition bureaucracy of bean counters, PowerPoint spin doctors, and various other bullshit artists - both civilian and blue suit. Establish an organization which answers to the Fleet with actual technical, ship design, operational and maintenance experience that can put together a spec and drawings package for a mature design that can be built to meet fleet requirements. Of course it’s going to be a real challenge to find the engineers, technicians, maintainers and - people with real financial, business expertise to do this. And get the organization the hell out of DC and near a fleet depot or operational base. Years ago, around 2002, we were assembled to listen to another newly appointed SES who was now the deputy for COMNAVSEA. This guy told us that “the number 1 job of NAVSEA was is to move money - period.” And we have witnessed the result of this irresponsible stupidity in the LCS, cruiser and the frigate programs. Of course there’s a much larger picture with our industrial base, but you cannot expect a builder to build something without showing what you need . NAVSEA was never ideal, nor is any ship design - even with the best at the helm, but to simply farm out our brains to “industry” as the current acquisition authorities have done has pissed away billions and years for next to nothing in return .
So much for the customer - the sailor and marine who needs to fight the ship.
This is the danger of privatization. Once, we could design, and build, warships in naval shipyards with naval personnel. In my lifetime we decided to destroy that capability and let mult-national corporations take over 100% of our warship construction.
Now we are captives.
And then the Navy, in it's infinite wisdom, decided to stop buying ships for a few years. And then is all confused as to why it is so hard to start up again. And where did all those companies that make the parts go?
The US has the engineers. The issue it NAVSEA has zero clue how to build engineering teams.
Been luck to work and build some amazing engineering teams and always amazes me from the college coops to the oldest crusty mechanical engineer who builds rally cars in the weekends.
One thing is always the same a few amazing leaders who builds rally cars the culture instills the culture then make sure they have JUST enough to do their jobs. It’s amazing what has been created.
Some scarcity is needed to force economy of action & creativity. Also, moving the teams to the edge of the problem is a necessity.