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Twice before, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have attempted to establish a single command to oversee the military forces in the United States. In 1961, this was the U.S. Strike Command (STRICOM), with the responsibility of providing unified control over Army and Air Force units based within the United States, with the responsibility of training forces, develop joint doctrine, and plan for and execute contingency operations as ordered. Later, STRICOM would also be assigned geographic responsibility for contingency planning for the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa south of the Sahara. General Powell noted: “In attempting to fulfill its functional responsibilities as trainer and provider of forces, STRICOM frequently collided with the Services’ authority under Title X to organize, train, and equip forces.”

STRICOM was replaced by the Readiness Command (REDCOM) in 1971. REDCOM maintained the same training and readiness functions, but had no geographic area of responsibility. Needless to say, REDCOM experienced the same resistance from the military services as had its predecessor. Over time, however, REDCOM was given additional responsibilities, including a requirement to plan and provide Joint Task Force (JTF) headquarters for areas that were not assigned to the existing unified commands. What began as REDCOM’s Rapid Deployment JTF would eventually grow into a new unified command, CENTCOM was established in 1983 with its headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa FL. CENTCOM assumed responsibility for Southwest Asia and related areas. REDCOM was abolished in 1987.

Shortly thereafter, the Atlantic Command (LANTCOM) was reorganized in 1993 as the U.S. Atlantic Command (USACOM) with the mission of preparing essentially all U.S. continental combat forces for overseas deployment. Of interest, USACOM did not assume control of the Pacific Fleet based on the U.S. West Coast; those forces, including Marine Forces Pacific, continued to come under PACCOM. Although there has been an increased emphasis on “universal’ doctrine and structure for U.S. forces, differences in geography, allies, commander personalities, and other factors made Pacific operations vastly different from those in the European-Atlantic and other regions.

LANTCOM/USACOM were reorganized, again, with the establishment of JFCOM in 1999 to control all U.S. forces in the Atlantic region and to serve as the DoD agent for joint warfighting experimentation; the creation and exploration of new combat concepts; and to provide military assistance to civilian authorities for the management of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). At the same time, responsibility for U.S. military operations in selected water around Africa and Europe was transferred from JFCOM to EUCOM and CENTCOM in 2000.
From the start of the unified and specified command structure, their commanders were known as Commanders-in-Chief (CinC), a title that dates within the U.S. armed forces back to General George Washington. In other words, the Commander-in-Chief, European Command, was known as CinCEUCOM.

This changed in 2002 when Secretary Rumsfeld directed that the term “CinC” would be dropped for the unified commands and subordinate organizations (such as the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets) and would be replaced by the term “combatant commander” for all appropriate military commanders. Only the President would henceforth be known as Commander-in-Chief.

All of the unified combatant commands are commanded by four-star officers, historically, unified commander positions was rotated among the services and some were assigned to officers of only one or two of the services.

In a sudden change in the natural order of things, Secretary Rumsfeld changed the Marine Corps normal place in the running of things. Previously to 2001, Marine officers held unified commands only in CENTCOM and its predecessor organizations, and once in USACOM. In January 2001, General James L. Jones (USMC) became head of EUCOM, a post that had previously been held only by Army and Air Force officers. In 2004, General James E. Cartwright (USMC) became the head of Strategic Command, the first Marine officer to hold that position, which had previously only be held by Air Force and Navy officers since 1992.

As the end of 2004, of the nine unified combatant commands, one was held by an Army General, three by Air Force Generals, three by Navy Admirals and one by a Marine General.

Coast Guard forces operating in forward areas report to the appropriate unified commander.