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From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium

Operational forces of the United States military operate under Unified Combatant Commands (UCCs), organized either on geographic (e.g., Pacificl) or functional (e.g., Special Operations, Strategic) lines. The line of command of the UCC goes from its four-star commander to the National Command Authority.

While the United States has long had regional and functional commands, the structure was formalized by the Goldwater-Nichols Act.

Geographic

• United States Central Command [r]: Add brief definition or description (USCENTCOM)
• United States European Command [r]: Add brief definition or description

United States Africa Command is a unified sub-command

• United States Northern Command [r]: Within the Department of Defense, the military headquarters responsible for defense of the continental United States, and support to civil authorities for disasters beyond their capabilities [e]
• United States Pacific Command [r]: Add brief definition or description (USPACOM)

United States Forces Korea is a unified sub-command

• United States Southern Command [r]: Add brief definition or description

Functional

• United States Joint Forces Command [r]: Add brief definition or description (USJFCOM)
• United States Special Operations Command [r]: Add brief definition or description (USSOCOM)
• United States Strategic Command [r]: The U.S. unified headquarters for the missions of worldwide nuclear and conventional precision strike, global network operations of the Global Information Grid, information operations, ballistic missile defense, and reduction of Weapons of Mass Destruction threats [e] (USSTRATCOM)
• United States Transportation Command [r]: The single point of contact and operations for transportation services, by land, air, and sea, for the U.S. Department of Defense [e] (USTRANSCOM)

Operatoions

The UCC commander, and such subordinate joint task forces he creates, will draw from land forces, naval, air forces, Marine, and special operations components assigned to him. Plans, such as air tasking orders, will be developed jointly, with due regard that some assets, such as Marine close air support, may remain under component control.