The United States Central Command is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF).
The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( YOO-sə-sok)) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, it is the largest component of the United States Special Operations Command. It is an Army Service Component Command. Its mission is to organize, train, educate, man, equip, fund, administer, mobilize, deploy and sustain Army special operations forces to successfully conduct worldwide special operations.
A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation.
A military staff or general staff is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military unit in their command and control role through planning, analysis, and information gathering, as well as by relaying, coordinating, and supervising the execution of their plans and orders, especially in case of multiple simultaneous and rapidly changing complex operations. They are organised into functional groups such as administration, logistics, operations, intelligence, training, etc. They provide multi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer, subordinate military units and other stakeholders. A centralised general staff results in tighter top-down control but requires larger staff at headquarters (HQ) and reduces accuracy of orientation of field operations, whereas a decentralised general staff results in enhanced situational focus, personal initiative, speed of localised action, OODA loop, and improved accuracy of orientation.
Mission-type tactics is a method of command and delegation where the military commander gives subordinate leaders a clearly-defined objective, high-level details such as a timeframe, and the forces needed to accomplish that objective. The subordinate leaders are given the planning initiative and freedom of execution: they decide on the methods to achieve the objective independently. This allows a high degree of flexibility at the operational and tactical levels of command, which allows for faster decision-making on the ground and frees the higher leadership from managing the tactical details to concentrate on the strategic picture. This may be contrasted with "Befehlstaktik" or command-type tactics.
The five paragraph order or five paragraph field order is a style of organizing information about a military situation for a unit in the field. It is an element of Canadian Army, United States Army, United States Marine Corps and United States Navy Seabees small unit tactics, and similar order styles are used by military groups around the world. An order specifies the instruction to a unit in a structured format that makes it easy to find each specific requirement. The five paragraphs can be remembered with the acronym SMEAC: "S" Situation, "M" Mission, "E" Execution, "A" Administration/Logistics, "C" Command/Signal.
In the United States Marine Corps, a Marine Air–Ground Task Force is the principal organization for all missions across the range of military operations. MAGTFs are a balanced air–ground, combined arms task organization of Marine Corps forces under a single commander that is structured to accomplish a specific mission. The MAGTF was formalized by the publishing of Marine Corps Order 3120.3 in December 1963, "The Marine Corps in the National Defense, MCDP 1-0". It stated:
A Marine air–ground task force with separate air ground headquarters is normally formed for combat operations and training exercises in which substantial combat forces of both Marine aviation and Marine ground units are included in the task organization of participating Marine forces.
The 5th Signal Command (Theater) ("Dragon Warriors") was a European-based tactical and strategic communications organization of the United States Army specializing in command and control which supported theater-limited, joint-forces, and combined forces activities. The command's mission was to build, operate and defend network capabilities to enable mission command and create tactical, operational and strategic flexibility for Army, Joint and Multinational forces in the EUCOM and AFRICOM areas of responsibility.
The United States Africa Command is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U.S. military operations, including fighting regional conflicts and maintaining military relations with 53 African nations. Its area of responsibility covers all of Africa except Egypt, which is within the area of responsibility of the United States Central Command. U.S. AFRICOM headquarters operating budget was $276 million in fiscal year 2012.
Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and conduct operations; for which a force, or component commander bears a certain responsibility. The term may also be used in other countries worldwide but it originated within the United States Armed Forces. This system is designed to allow a single commander to exercise command and control of all military forces in the AOR, regardless of their branch of service.
The structure of the United States Navy consists of four main bodies: the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the operating forces, and the Shore Establishment.
The 528th Sustainment Brigade (Airborne), 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A), or 528th SB (SO) (A) was activated on 16 December 2008, as part of the overall United States Army Special Operations Forces logistics transformation. The brigade replaced the Special Operations Support Command (Airborne) (SOSCOM) as combat service support and combat health support unit for all Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) units under the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne).
The 194th Engineer Brigade (Theater Army) is a combat engineer brigade of the United States Army based at Jackson, Tennessee. It is a part of the Tennessee Army National Guard.
The reconnaissance mission within the United States Marine Corps is divided into two distinct but complementary aspects; Marine Division Recon and Force Reconnaissance.
The 32nd AAMDC or 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command is a theater level Army air and missile defense multi-component organization with a worldwide, 72-hour deployment mission. The 32nd AAMDC commands echelon above corps (EAC) ADA brigades and other assigned forces. Four such brigades, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, and 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade; by training, all stand ready to accomplish their mission of air defense against missile attack – 'anywhere, anytime' in support of the war-fighting combatant commander (CCDR).
Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. It is pronounced "Jay-Fack".
Joint Force Land Component Commander (JFLCC), is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. It is pronounced "Jay-Flick".
For military strategy, intent is the desired outcome of a military operation. It is a key concept in 21st century military operations and is a vital element to facilitate subordinates' initiative and collaboration and cooperation amongst team members in joint operations.
The United States Special Operations Command is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense and is the only unified combatant command created by an Act of Congress. USSOCOM is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
The Troop Leading Procedures (TLP) are a systematic approach to planning, preparing, and executing military operations at the small-unit level, particularly in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. It extends the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) to the small-unit level, placing primary responsibility for planning on the commander or small-unit leader. The TLP is a dynamic process used by small-unit leaders to analyze a mission, develop a plan, and prepare for an operation. It is designed to be a flexible and adaptable framework for leaders to make timely decisions and ensure successful mission execution. The TLP consists of a series of steps that can be completed in any order or concurrently, serving as guideposts for small unit leaders to utilize their resources effectively.
