U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)

A regional headquarters responsible for planning and conducting U.S. military activity in northeast Africa and southwest and central Asia. As a unified combatant command, CENTCOM is composed of forces from the army, navy, air force, and marines, and has a broad and ongoing mission. The regional division of commands represented by the Unified Combat Command structure allows U.S. defense planning to be focused on specific regions. CENTCOM is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands that include U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), U.S. European Command (EUCOM), U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), and U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), as well as the functionally ordered U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), and U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM). CENTCOM is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The commander in chief of CENTCOM (CINCCENT) reports directly to the secretary of defense.

CENTCOM has no combat units permanently assigned to it. Instead, all four armed services provide CENTCOM with component commands. These include USARCENT (army), USCENTAF (air force), [Page 773]USMARCENT (marines), USNAVCENT (navy), and SOCCENT (special operations).

CENTCOM's area of responsibility covers 27 countries from the Horn of Africa to central Asia. CENTCOM's Northern Red Sea and Arabian Peninsula area consists of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. United States interests in this area include strategic oil resources and access to waterways such as the Persian Gulf. The Horn of Africa region covered by CENTCOM consists of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and the islands of Seychelles. This region is considered important because it borders the critical sea lines of communication through the Red Sea. CENTCOM's south Asian area comprises Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Main U.S interests in this region include containing Iranian military expansion and fighting terrorism. The central Asian states included in CENTCOM's area of responsibility are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Oil and gas development in the Caspian area are of key importance to U.S. interests in the region.

CENTCOM seeks to enhance U.S. presence in order to maintain stability and regional security in the volatile regions it covers. The free flow of oil and trade, freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, and the war on terrorism are key U.S. interests in the region covered by CENTCOM. To fulfill its objectives, CENTCOM maintains an active peacetime politico-military engagement program with countries in its area of responsibility, which include combined exercises and training, humanitarian assistance, and security assistance. In the event of a conflict, CENTCOM is poised to quickly mobilize and respond.

The Defense Department defines CENTCOM's theater strategy as “shaping the Central Region for the 21st Century.” CENTCOM's theater goals are grouped into war fighting, engagement, and development categories. War-fighting objectives are the most important and include protection, promotion, and preservation of U.S. interests in the Central Region, such as regional stability, free flow of energy resources, and freedom of navigation; development and maintenance of necessary forces and infrastructure to be able to respond militarily should the need arise; deterrence of conflict through forward presence and joint military exercises; and maintenance of combat readiness to be able to decisively fight and win a conflict should deterrence fail. Engagement objectives include maintenance and support of coalitions and collective security efforts that support U.S. interests in the region; close relationships with regional political and military leaders; support for regional militaries; and countering terrorism and the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Development goals include prompt response to humanitarian and environmental crises and the maintenance of awareness of regional security, political, social, and economic trends.

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