What officer rank would be given command of defence forces of a large island? Garrison includes several divisions, several dozen aircraft and a small naval force.
What would briefing of mentioned officer after arrival include? What information would he need to get sufficient understanding of the situation?
Thanks
>Garrison includes several divisions,
At least a LTG (O-9) because several divisions is a Corps size element. You could make the case for it being a 4 Star General at that point because the inclusion of aircraft (assuming you mean planes because helicopters are already imbedded in the CABs of Army divisions) and naval assets means that it's a Joint Force major combatant command which are all headed 4 star Generals.
These commands also rotate between the services and are geographically based rather than based on the types of units within them. Which you can end up with an Air Force General commanding EUCOM even though he'll have Army and Navy units under him.
>You could make the case for it being a 4 Star General at that point because the inclusion of aircraft (assuming you mean planes because helicopters are already imbedded in the CABs of Army divisions) and naval assets means that it's a Joint Force major combatant command
No, that's not what makes something a major COCOM
>No, that's not what makes something a major COCOM
Than explain what does. He asked a broad hypothetical so I answered hypothetically
Your paygrade numbers are wrong. And why are you saying OF instead of O?
>Your paygrade numbers are wrong. And why are you saying OF instead of O?
No they aren't. Lieutenant General is an O-9, and we say in the O-9 in the US. OP posted an American General so I assume he is asking about the American military.
OP here.
Americans are ok in this scenario, yes. And thanks for feedback..
If you're actually curious anon pick up a book about the invasion of Sicily, the German commanders there had to deal with some shit and exactly how they met the clusterfrick is a pretty big part of the story.
Can't speak on how it'd be done in current US/NATO doctrine but Sicily is a great story.
How is officer briefed, when taking such command?
At that level you're dealing with very broad objective and more concerned with planning for things that will happen 6 to 24 months down the road.
ie
>We need the Army to take this island to capture/build airfields for the Air Force
>We'll use those airfields to bomb the mainland and conduct SEAD on the enemy's depth and coastal defenses
>Once we strike the coast the Navy can move in and begin landing armored avehicles for the Army/Marines ground forces to open an assault onto the mainland
>Navy Aircraft Carriers will provide air support from off the coast until we can establish an airbase for the Air Force again
>Army/Marines continue to push inland until
And blah blah. 4 star General is working at the Political, Strategic, and Operational level, but he has a massive staff to dig out the details. He is coordinating all these efforts. His brief from his superior could be as a simple "take the capital". Dwight E. Eisenhower's OPORD for D-Day was literally just one page when normally those things are like 300-pages at even the battalion level.
Thanks. What if island, he has command of is being defended?
At that level (and for the most likely "large island" the US concerns itself with in particular) the briefing probably consists of the several wargames on the exact scenario in which he's taken part over previous years. I can't see them just appointing someone who hadn't at least studied war college papers on the subject and knew the terrain.
If Eisenhower woke up in June 1944 after being in a coma for 12 months, and they gave him SHAPE, he probably would have needed 300 pages.
Be specific, shithead. Location matters because that's context.
Java in 1939.
Probably a Lieutenant General aka a 3 star General. As a general (pun intended) rule Brigadier Generals (OF-6; 1 star) command brigades, Major Generals (OF-7; 2 star) command divisions, Lieutenant Generals (OF-8; 3 star) command corps, and Generals (OF-9; 4 star) command armies. During and after the civil war and WWII there was also the General of the Army (OF-10; 5 star) in charge of theater wide operations. There are currently no OF-10s but they can be appointed during war time.
a 4 star general is an o-10, a 5 star general is a special rank not on the pay scale but i'd imagine is the same as an o-10
I'm doing NATO OF scale not the military payscale.
We know and that don't care
A Captain runs Gitmo. Just sayin'.