The US Central Command or USCENTCOM will be responsible for planning and directing the war against Iraq. It is one of the Department of Defence's nine Unified Commands. The command was established in January 1983 with its headquarters located at MacDill Airforce Base, in Tampa, Florida. USCENTCOM's area of responsibility consists of 25 countries in the Middle East, South and Central Asia, Northeast Africa and the Persian Gulf.
USCENTCOM consists of five subordinate units: US Army Forces Central Command(ARCENT),US Central Command Air Forces(CENTAF),US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT),US Marine Corps Forces Central Command(MARCENT) and US Special Operations Command Central(SOCCENT).
US Army Force Central Command is headquartered in the state of Georgia with the Third Army as its mainstay. It also maintains subordinate commands in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, putting Iraq under the situation of converging attack.
US Central Command Air Forces is located in South Carolina and executes as well as plans for contingency operations in the Gulf region. It consists of approximately 120 aircraft and 9,000 US Air Force personnel. The Ninth Air Force, which began official operations in November 1942, is well equipped with fighters, patrol and bomber aircraft. It is the backbone of the unit.
US Naval Forces Central Command supports all naval operations in the US Central Command area of responsibility. It headquarters in Manama, Bahrain,and is the only USCENTCOM unit with its headquarters located outside the US.
US Marine Forces Central Command and Special Operations Command Central both provide USCENTCOM with a rapid response capability across the spectrum of military operations. The two are not large scale units but often undertake difficult and risky operations.
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