The Joint Force and Lessons from 1971

In 1971 Colonel Duane H. Smith analyzed the unified command structure, examined an existing proposal for change, and suggested improvements. He illustrated how this structure must account for the challenges of the contemporary strategic environment and balance several tensions, such as effectiveness versus efficiency, flexibility versus focusing on a specific mission, and forward-deployed versus home-station forces. Many of Smith's insights remain applicable to the unified command structure and global force management processes today. S ince 1946 the Unified Command Plan and its inherent unified command structure (UCS) have directed how the US Department of Defense organizes its forces. 1 In his 1971 Parameters article, Colonel Duane H. Smith, US Army, evaluated the UCS by exploring the following questions: "Is the present unified command structure adequate for ensuring unity of effort of land, sea, and air forces? Would the peacetime organization require change if the US went to war? If change is indicated, what should the change be?" 2 In his analysis Smith examined an existing proposal for change and suggested his own improvements. His approach and many of his recommendations remain relevant today

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• The History of the Unified Command Plan, 1946-1993

  Eliot A Cohen, Ronald H Cole•Foreign Affairs•1996

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