Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 123

ASSIGNING FORCES

COCOM functions. Although joint force commanders may perform some functions considered
administrative (such as preparing evaluations and
approving leave requests), those functions are regulated through service regulations and managed by
service components. Additionally, the operational
and administrative authorities merge at the service
component command level. The service component
command synchronizes the functions of ADCON
and COCOM, limiting the chance of competing
interests occurring at the unit level.
Moreover, the only person who holds
ADCON in its entirety is the service secretary, who exercises it through the service chief.
ADCON functions are performed by multiple
service organizations in support of each service
member and unit within and outside this defined
“administrative chain of command.”

How Assignment to Combatant
Commands Could Benefit the
Joint Force
Assignment establishes formal relationships
and gives authorities to combatant commanders
commensurate with their UCP responsibilities.
According to joint doctrine, the UCP establishes
(Photo by Master Sgt. Chad McMeen, U.S. Marine Corps)
CCMD missions and responsibilities, delineates
U.S., Norwegian, Dutch, and British troops train 2 March 2016 during
Exercise Cold Response 16 near Namsos, Norway. Norway’s cold
the general geographical area of responsibility for
environment challenges the air, land, and sea capabilities of the thirteen
geographic CCMDs, and provides the framework
participating NATO allies and partners while improving their collective
used to assign forces.10 More specific guidance and
capacity to resp ond and operate as a team.
prioritization is provided by the secretary of deAdministrative control: generating the
fense in the Guidance for the Employment of the Force.11
force. ADCON is the joint term for the collective
Regional knowledge. The Army’s regionally aligned
responsibilities of the service secretaries to manage
forces and the Marine Corps’ regional orientation
the affairs of military units—such as support, traincapstone concept (with both constructs usually keeping, and readiness, based on title 10, U.S. Code.9 Each
ing units service-retained) acknowledge the need for
service manages administrative functions within that
familiarity with a given region’s cultures, terrain, and
service. Each service determines who performs all of its languages, among other considerations.12 If the services
administrative functions, and each service maintains
took regional alignment and regional orientation one
flexibility in managing its title 10 mission regardless of
step further and established a command relationship
how forces are assigned.
between the CCMDs and the units, subordinate comOpposition to assigning forces to CCMDs is somemanders could receive direction from and provide input
times based on the erroneous idea that ADCON will
to the combatant commander and staff. Assignment of
accompany COCOM authority or that ADCON and
such forces to CCMDs could facilitate both steady-state
COCOM authority will be two competing chains of
and contingency operations by improving forces’ knowlcommand. By definition, ADCON only flows through
edge, experience, and relationships within certain reservice lines, and ADCON functions differ from
gions and shortening the response times during crises.
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