The Unified Command Plan and Combatant Commands: Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

The Unified Command Plan (UCP) and associated Combatant Commands (COCOMs) provide operational instructions and command and control to the Armed Forces and have a significant impact on how they are organized, trained, and resourced areas over which Congress has constitutional authority. The UCP is a classified executive branch document prepared by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and reviewed and updated every two years that assigns missions; planning, training, and operational responsibilities; and geographic areas of responsibilities to COCOMs. Functional COCOMs operate world-wide across geographic boundaries and provide unique capabilities to geographic combatant commands and the Services while Geographic COCOMs operate in clearly delineated areas of operation and have a distinctive regional military focus.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 17, 2012
Accession Number
ADA585140

Entities

People

  • Andrew Feickert

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Employment
  • Geography
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Treaties
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3