COCOM Update

President Obama has announced his intent to offer the Chair and Vice Chair of the JCS a second term. In addition, he's shaking up the COCOMs a little - a Navy lead for EUCOM, which has no precedent. PACOM and SOUTHCOM also get new commanders, the former, Navy as usual, the latter goes to Air Force. That's just wrong. EUCOM or SOUTHCOM should have went Army.

Here's the new score:

• CENTCOM - Army General David Petraeus
• PACOM - Admiral Robert Willard
• EUCOM - Admiral James Stavridis
• NORTHCOM - Air Force General Victor Renuart
• SOUTHCOM - Air Force Lt Gen Douglas Fraser
• AFRICOM - Army General William Ward
• JFCOM - Marine General James Mattis
• STRATCOM - Air Force General Kevin Chilton
• SOCOM - Admiral Eric Olsen
• TRANSCOM - Air Force General Duncan McNabb

Army - 2, Air Force - 4, Navy - 3, Marines - 1. Ground-pounders are sucking sand - again. Gee, it's a good thing that all the defense analysts are talking about the important combat role of the overstretched Army and Marine Corps in current/future military operations, because otherwise I wouldn't have guessed as to where the emphasis needs to be.

Comments

[boz]

I know I would have liked to have seen Army at PACOM, STRATCOM or TRANSCOM. Might as well shake up all of the traditional COCOM roles.

[J.]

There's at least precedent for an Army commander at PACOM. I think the Air Force would go haywire if they let a non-AF person get into STRATCOM or TRANSCOM leadership. I think they still suffer nervous breakdowns when they think of Cartwright - a Marine - heading STRATCOM (not that there was anything wrong with that).

[fasteddiez]

That's "Hoss Cartwright" to you Mr J. All seriousness aside, why shouldn't they like him? He is a pilot.