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Tom Clancy FAQ - Military 101
All things military are discussed and considered in
this section of the Tom Clancy FAQ Concordance. Not everything
in this section is found in the Tom Clancy books. Similarly,
not everything in the Tom Clancy books has found its way into this
Concordance. If you would like to add or modify any of the entries
in this Concordance, please send an email to submissions@clancyfaq.com.
Force Structure
One thing to note is that the force structure of the
US Military has changed somewhat over the course of the books
and some of the "traditional" terms with which many of us grew
up are obsolete. The US Military
is now arranged under a variety of "Unified
Commands" under the
direction of the Secretary of Defense. In times of crisis, these
Commands are "activated" and the chain of command is through
this structure. Administratively, little has changed. One thing
of note,
however, is that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld issued
a directive in 2002 that the term "CINCwhatever" was to be purged
from the military jargon. "CINC is Sunk" was the cry. The rationale
is that there is only ONE CINC, which is the President. Henceforth,
Type Leaders were to be strictly Commanders. Thus, CINCPAC, for
example, is now "Commander, Pacific Forces." More details may
be found by following the links.
Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I)
One of the first U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command Generals (General
T.S. Power) made the comment in 1959 that "Communications are
the nervous system of the entire SAC organization, and their protection
is therefore, of the greatest importance. I like to say that without
communications, all I control is my desk, and that is not a very lethal
weapon." All of the high-tech components of today's armed
forces are useless if the operator does not know when, where, how,
and why to use that item. "C3I" is the
generic term referring to the whole range of assets providing the
answers to these questions.
White House Situation Room
In terms of command centers, the two most famous in the Tom Clancy
books are the White House situation room and the National Military
Command Center in the Pentagon. Until recently, the
White House situation room has never been photographed. Two
photographs, however, have surfaced recently as a result of the September
11, 2001 attacks. Both are pictures in the conference room area
and are found on this page.
The National Security Council says it is a 24 hour watch center. Various sources indicate
the situation room is on one of the two acknowledged basement floors
(if not deeper) in the West Wing of the White House. Most sources
seem to indicate it is a considerably smaller version of the Pentagon's
Emergency Conference Room (part of the National Military Command Center).
The National Military Command Center (NMCC)
The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is located in the Joint
Chiefs of Staff area of the Pentagon. In its nuclear role, the
NMCC is responsible for generating Emergency Action Messages (EAMs)
to launch control centers, nuclear submarines, recon aircraft and
battlefield commanders worldwide. This was the first purpose
of the NMCC. Now, the NMCC is essentially the control center
for the entire military - a central clearinghouse. The NMCC
now provides continuous monitoring and coordination of worldwide military
operations. It directly supports commanders, the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs, the Secretary of Defense and the President in the command
and control of U.S. armed forces in peacetime, contingencies and war.
Further information about the NMCC is available on this page: National
Military Command Center.
Land Warfare Systems
Land warfare
Air Warfare Systems
Air warfare
Naval Warfare Systems
Naval warfare
Space Warfare
Space warfare
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