Defense 
Secretary Robert Gates is recommending the closure of US Joint Forces Command as a means to shed excess Pentagon overhead. It is one of the many efficiency initiatives that he unveiled during a Pentagon press briefing Monday. “Training joint forces, generating joint forces, creating joint doctrine, and experimenting with that doctrine are all valuable tasks. However, they do not necessarily require a separate four-star combatant command,” he said in justifying this move. He would assign JFCOM’s current functions to other organizations, including the Joint Staff. The Defense Business Board that advises Gates suggested this very idea back in July. The board considered JFCOM too bloated with contractors and redundant activities. Among Gates’ other muscle moves, he would eliminate the office of the assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration. These changes would take effect in Fiscal 2012, if Congress goes along. (DOD release on efficiencies initiatives) (Gates transcript) (Obama statement) (Mullen statement) (JFCOM statement) (Cartwright-Hale-Fox transcript) (Skelton statement) (See also AFPS report by Jim Garamone.)
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
