INDOPACOM and the Pentagon

Abstract

The commander of INDOPACOM is often called the “second most powerful man in the world,” the first being the President of the United States. INDOPACOM is the largest of the U.S. military’s regional “combatant commands,” encompassing half of the surface of the earth. INDOPACOM and the other combatant commands sometimes draw criticism for being too autonomous and too powerful. It was said that the generals and admirals leading the regional combatant commands had surpassed U.S. ambassadors, intelligence agencies and corporations in the shaping of U.S. foreign policy and in wielding global influence. Such assessments suggest that INDOPACOM has outgrown the control of its formal supervisory organization, the Office of the Secretary of Defense located in the Pentagon. In fact, the relationship between INDOPACOM and the Pentagon is complicated. INDOPACOM does indeed have considerable authority and autonomy, but senior INDOPACOM officers could quickly point out ways the Pentagon constrains them, often to INDOPACOM’s frustration. The INDOPACOM commander is in large part a diplomat in addition to being a manager and strategist. There is disagreement within the U.S. government over how much effort INDOPACOM should focus on diplomacy as opposed to preparing to win wars.