The Pentagon is reported to establish an International Command to oversee three major commands in the Eastern Hemisphere

According to a report by The Washington Post on the 15th local time, sources revealed that senior officials at the U.S. Department of Defense (or the War Department) are developing a plan to lower the status of several key military commands and adjust the balance of power among senior generals. This is a major reform pushed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

The report said that if the plan is approved, it would be one of the most significant changes in the structure of high-level military power in the U.S. military in decades, and would partially fulfill Esper's previous commitment to break the status quo and "reduce the number of four-star generals." According to the sources, the plan will lower the status of the U.S. Central Command, European Command, and African Command, and establish a new "U.S. International Command" to manage these major commands. The sources cited in the report stated that this plan would help the U.S. government integrate and transfer resources from the Middle East and Europe to other regions.

Additionally, sources indicated that the plan requires the U.S. Southern Command and Northern Command, which are responsible for military operations across the Western Hemisphere, to be reorganized under a new headquarters called the "U.S. Army North Command." Sources also mentioned that Pentagon officials had discussed establishing a "U.S. Arctic Command" that would report to the Army North Command, but this idea seems to have been abandoned.

With these measures, the number of U.S. combat commands will decrease from 11 to 8, and the number of four-star generals corresponding to the remaining commands will also be reduced accordingly. The remaining combat commands will include the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Cyber Command, Special Operations Command, Space Command, Strategic Command, and Transportation Command.

An anonymous senior official at the Department of Defense supported the plan, stating that the reform could accelerate decision-making and adaptability among military commanders. He added that the way the U.S. military conducts command and control of its forces has already shown a "decline," indicating that comprehensive reform is urgently needed.

It is reported that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine is expected to provide a detailed report on the plan to Esper in the coming days. However, so far, including members of the military committees of both the U.S. House and Senate, no one is clear about more specific information about the plan. Esper's team has also remained silent about the rumors, neither confirming nor denying them.

However, people familiar with the plan said that the Department of Defense's reform plan is consistent with the Trump administration's recently released "National Security Strategy." The most well-known content of this plan is the public declaration that "the days when the United States supports the entire world order like Atlas have ended."

Of course, any reform within the Department of Defense still needs the final approval of Esper and President Trump.

At the same time, Esper has already begun publicly reducing the number of senior officers in the military through various means. Previously, he forced more than 20 senior officers to resign through dismissal and threatened others to undergo lie detector tests to determine whether they had leaked information to the media. Esper also told those who temporarily remained: "If they don't like the government's policies, they should 'do the honorable thing and resign.'"

Nevertheless, due to the potential impact being too great, the U.S. Congress has started to exert influence on the Department of Defense, requiring the Pentagon to detail the costs and impacts of this reform. This has been included in the annual defense policy bill, which requires that after the Pentagon submits relevant materials to the legislators within 60 days, the funds necessary to implement this plan will be allocated. The related bill has already passed the House of Representatives, and it is planned to pass the Senate this week.

Some people are also concerned about this reform plan. For example, Chuck Hagel, who served as the Defense Secretary during the Obama administration and was previously a Republican senator, believes: "The world hasn't become simpler... so you need commands that can address issues before they become big problems. I think when you unify or merge too much, you lose some of this capability."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851648715455755/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.