Monday, August 12, 2013

Get Your Map & Your COCOM Crayons

Everyone wants to play this game ... you know you do.

I have always believed that our COCOM structure along with Goldwater-Nichols was LONG overdue for some modernizing.

Thanks to the folks over at NavyTimes, let's play;
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, ...
Go over to the link to get the RUMINT on their plan. 

If you gave me 5-minutes to ponder the question and a very inadequate graphics program ... here would be my plan.


We would go from NORTHCOM, SOUTHCOM, EUCOM, AFRICOM, CENTCOM, and PACOM (6), to AMERICOM, ATLANTICOM, CENTCOM, & PACOM (4).

Here are my thoughts; 
- The New World should be one concern. 
- Western Africa is a completely different challenge and set of issues than Eastern Africa. Western Africa should not have its own COCOM, so it can share the European theater's 4-star.
- Let us speak as adults; CENTCOM has to deal with the mess that is militant Islam, and should focus on those areas most influenced by the wacky home of Shia and Sunni extremism. Yes, it is global ... but you have to make a call. CENTCOM isn't quite ISLAMCOM ... but close. From Casablanca east through all North Africa, to all the 'Stans to Astana, south through Karachi and down the eastern coast of Africa down to but not including the Republic of South Africa, let CENTCOM have it.
- PACOM stays largely what it is. I'm not too happy with the Russian Far East being in ATLANTICOM ... but when was Russia not throwing a spanner in the works?

My plan, no worse than the one we are using now. Over to you.

No comments: