Analysis / Reform

Adding Operational Authorities for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Assessing Defense Reform Series

— Mark Cancian
Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thejointstaff/22162463861/

Summary

The House and the Senate National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bills have several provisions seeking to strengthen the role of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This paper examines the proposals to give the chairman some operational authorities. The concern is that global threats like ISIS or peer competitors like Russia and China cross regions and functions and, therefore, involve several COCOMs.
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