Fox

Central Command (CENTCOM) is one of several combatant commands (COCOMs), headed by a four star general or admiral. As of last week, CENTCOM’s commander was Admiral William “Fox” Fallon. His appointment less than a year ago was somewhat controversial as CENTCOM traditionally was headed by Army generals. Previously, Fallon commanded Pacific Command (PACOM) whose chief areas of focus are China and North Korea. Not long after arriving we received word that Admiral Fallon announced his resignation. CENTCOM Forward Headquarters immediately was abuzz with speculation as to who would replace Fallon. A particularly funny Air Force officer co-worker of mine jokingly said to me and several other Navy officers, “Guess who just lost a COCOM, bitches?”

Joking aside, the relationship between the commanders of CENTCOM and Multi-National Force Iraq (MFN-I) largely is considered to be strained. CENTCOM technically is MNF-I’s higher headquarters. That is, General David Petraeus technically worked for Admiral Fallon. Yet, Petraeus, as head of MNF-I, enjoyed unparalleled access to both the president and secretary of defense, in effect, largely marginalizing Fallon. It was also highly rumored that the two did not get along. Shortly after Fallon’s resignation, many articles ruminated that he was, in fact, fired by the secretary of defense, for his very public dissension to the idea of war with Iran. General officers, especially those who command COCOMs, are expected not to make public statements which disagree with statements by the president or secretary of defense. They are expected to provide private, candid advice to civilian leadership, emphasis on private. Journalists who lean towards the left were quick to speculate that Fallon was fired because he fundamentally and very publicly opposed the idea of going to war with Iran. Those on the right opined that Fallon resigned in protest of being marginalized by Petraeus. In my opinion, the truth lies somewhere between those two extremes.

Secretary of Defense Gates announced that Fallon’s replacement won’t be named until mid-spring. In the meantime, three-star army Lieutenant General Dempsey, CENTCOM’s deputy commander, will take the helm. Most military observers agree that Petraeus is a leading contender for Fallon’s replacement. While this makes logical sense, many people want to keep Petraeus exactly where he is as commanding general of MNF-I. He is largely credited with changing the focus of the war in Iraq to counterinsurgency and is architect of last year’s “surge” of five additional brigade combat teams (BCTs). After all, why would anyone want to fix something that’s not broken?