ing direct orders from a person in another will persist through future conflicts. How can a General in the Army make a decision for Navy personnel? In turn, how can an Admiral make a decision about a mission conducted my Army rangers? Even though the component commanders in an operation are of equal rank, it’s only natural for those commanders to argue for and possibly favor their respective branch. Also, with the Navy having a small air component compared to the Air Force in large-scale operations, it seems that the Air Force component commander will command overall air operations. This can result in trouble if the component commander is the slightest bit partial.As the Department of Defense plans for future joint operations, positive and negative results from past operations must be examined and learned from. It is inevitable that problems will arise with the employment of forces, but as long as contingency-planning is conducted by the decision-making echelons, these problems should have swift solutions. ...
