Establishment of unified commands in the Pacific USINDOPACOM has evolved through the gradual consolidation of various commands in the Pacific and Far East. Its origins can be traced to the command structure established early in World War II to wage the war in the Pacific. In April 1942, U.S. military forces in the
Pacific Theatre were divided into two commands: the
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) under Army
General Douglas MacArthur; and the
Pacific Ocean Areas (POA) under Navy
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Each had command of all U.S. military forces assigned to his area. The authority of the POA Commander-in-Chief (CINCPOA) was technically separate from that of the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC), but Admiral Nimitz was assigned to both positions and bore the title CINCPAC/CINCPOA. Efforts to establish a unified command for the entire Pacific AOR proved impossible during the war. The divergent interests of the Army and the Navy precluded the subordination of either of the two principal commanders in the Pacific Theatre. When the war ended in September 1945, the command arrangement carried forward with
Fleet Admiral Nimitz as CINCPAC/CINCPOA and
General of the Army MacArthur as Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Forces Pacific (CINCAFPAC). Command arrangements after World War II were defined by the "Outline Command Plan"– in a sense, the first Unified Command Plan (UCP)– approved by President Harry S. Truman on 14 December 1946 and authorized by the National Security Act of 1947. The plan called for the establishment of seven
unified combatant commands as "an interim measure for the immediate postwar period." The first three unified commands were established in the Pacific. The
Joint Chiefs of Staff implementing directive of 16 December 1946 established the
Far East Command (FECOM), Pacific Command (PACOM), and
Alaskan Command (ALCOM) effective 1 January 1947. The commands, their areas of responsibility, and their missions were as follows: •
Far East Command: U.S. forces in
Japan,
Korea, the
Ryukyus, the
Philippines, and the
Mariana and
Bonin Islands. The Commander-in-Chief, Far East (CINCFE) would carry out occupation duties, maintain the security of the command, plan and prepare for a general emergency in the area, support the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC), and command U.S. forces in
China in an emergency. •
Pacific Command: U.S. forces allocated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff within the Pacific Area. CINCPAC would defend the United States against attack through the Pacific, conduct operations in the Pacific, maintain the security of U.S. island positions and of sea and air communications, support U.S. military commitments in China, plan and prepare for a general emergency, and support CINCFE and Commander-in-Chief, Alaskan Command (CINCAL). •
Alaskan Command: U.S. forces in
Alaska, including the
Aleutian Islands. CINCAL would protect Alaska and its sea and air communications, defend the United States from attack through Alaska and the Arctic, plan and prepare for a general emergency, and support CINCFE, CINCPAC, and the Commanding General of the
Strategic Air Command (CG SAC). General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was appointed CINCFE; Army Major General
Howard A. Craig was assigned as CINCAL. U.S. Navy
Admiral John Henry Towers was designated CINCPAC. At the time of appointment, he was serving as Admiral Nimitz's direct successor as CINCPAC/CINCPOA. Admiral Towers retained his position as Commander-in-Chief,
U.S. Pacific Fleet; his title was abbreviated CINCPACFLT to avoid confusion with the newly established Pacific Command. Headquarters for both CINCPAC and CINCPACFLT were located at Makalapa,
Pearl Harbor, in the
Territory of Hawaiʻi. Then-PACOM's original AOR ranged from
Burma and the eastern
Indian Ocean to the west coast of the Americas. Following a 1949 review of missions and deployments of U.S. forces, the Joint Chiefs of Staff revised the Unified Command Plan on 16 February 1950. The
Volcano Islands were transferred to FECOM's AOR; likewise, responsibility for South Korea was transferred from FECOM to PACOM. The duty of protecting the
Panama Canal remained assigned to Commander in Chief, Atlantic Command (CINCLANT); one year later, however, the Western approaches to the Canal would be reassigned to CINCPAC.
The Korean War The outbreak of the
Korean War and subsequent developments in the Far East tested the U.S. unified command structure in the Pacific. Although General MacArthur, as CINCFE, had been relieved of responsibility for South Korea, early U.S. reaction to
North Korea's invasion of the South on 25 June 1950 came through his command. On 10 July, at the request of the
United Nations,
President Truman directed General MacArthur to establish the
United Nations Command (UNC) for the purpose of directing operations against North Korean forces. U.S. forces assigned to FECOM were assigned to UNC with General MacArthur designated Commander-in-Chief, UNC (CINCUNC). The primary responsibility of CINCFE, however, remained the defense of Japan. During the war, CINCPAC was ordered to support CINCUNC/CINCFE. With CINCFE focused on combat operations during the Korean War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, over strong objection from FECOM, transferred the Mariana, Bonin and Volcano Islands to PACOM. In late 1951, PACOM was also assigned responsibility for the Philippines, the
Pescadores, and
Formosa (Taiwan).
Reorganization of 1956 The new Unified Command Plan approved by Secretary of Defense
Charles Wilson on 21 June 1956 produced significant changes to the command structure in the Pacific. ALCOM would remain as a unified command because of its strategic location, retaining its mission for the ground defense of the Alaskan region. Its other responsibilities, however, were reduced: the duty for the protection of sea communications in Alaskan waters was assumed by PACOM. The responsibilities of the
Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) would be likewise expanded to include the air defense of Alaska and the Northeast. UCP 1956 also disestablished FECOM as a separate unified command. U.S. military deployments to Japan and Korea were decreasing after the end of Japanese reconstruction and the Korean War. The JCS, therefore, believed that the divided command structure in the Pacific should be abolished and FECOM's responsibility reassigned to PACOM. A subsequent outline plan to disestablish FECOM and transfer its responsibilities was approved by SECDEF and the JCS effective 1 July 1957. Under the plan, two subordinate unified commands under CINCPAC were established: Commander,
U.S. Forces Japan (COMUSJAPAN) and Commander,
U.S. Forces Korea (COMUSKOREA). The latter was dual-hatted as CINCUNC. The UCP further specified that no unified commander would exercise direct command of any of its Service components or subordinate commands. As such,
Admiral Felix Stump gave up direct command of the Pacific Fleet, delegating the responsibility of CINCPACFLT to his Deputy,
Admiral Maurice E. Curts. CINCPAC's staff was thereafter separated from CINCPACFLT's staff and moved from
Pearl Harbor to a new headquarters building (the former
Aiea Naval Hospital) at Camp H.M. Smith. Service components for the Army and Air Force– U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) and U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)– were also assigned to PACOM.
The Vietnam War Command over U.S. forces engaged in the
Vietnam War was designated by CINCPAC to three subordinate commands.
U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (USMACV), activated 8 February 1962 to direct U.S. support to
South Vietnam's military forces, largely controlled all U.S. forces and operations within South Vietnam.
Naval gunfire support and
air strikes on targets in Vietnam, however, were delegated to PACFLT and the U.S. 7th Fleet. PACAF and PACFLT were responsible for conducting air and naval operations against North Vietnam and Laos. Control of B-52s employed to conduct airstrikes against targets in South Vietnam remained under the
Strategic Air Command.
Command adjustments, 1971–1979 A new Unified Command Plan was approved in 1971. Effective 1 January 1972, the Pacific Command assumed responsibility for the Indian Ocean and the countries of southern Asia extending westward to the eastern border of Iran (which then fell under
EUCOM's responsibility).
Transfers of responsibility, 2002–2006 Under UCP 2002, effective 21 January, Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld assigned Antarctica to USPACOM. Secretary Rumsfeld also approved the assignment of responsibility for Russia to EUCOM with USPACOM in a supporting role for the
Siberia and Russian Far East. Later reassignments under the 2004 and 2006 plans placed the entire Seychelles Archipelago in the USCENTCOM's AOR and extended
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)'s boundary westward to encompass all of the Aleutian Islands, respectively. On 24 October 2002, the Secretary issued a memorandum declaring that the title "Commander in Chief" should only refer to the President of the United States. Effective that date, all combatant commanders deleted "in Chief" from their titles. USCINCPAC was redesignated Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (CDRUSPACOM).
Transfer of Alaskan Command, 2014 In a move to streamline command and control of forces in Alaska and integrate forces in defense of North America, Secretary of Defense
Chuck Hagel approved the transfer of ALCOM to USNORTHCOM on 1 October 2014.
Renaming of Pacific Command, 2018 On 30 May 2018, at the change-of-command ceremony between Admirals
Harry B. Harris Jr. and
Philip S. Davidson, Defense Secretary
Jim Mattis announced that Pacific Command has been renamed Indo-Pacific Command "in recognition of the increasing connectivity of the Indian and Pacific Oceans." U.S. officials stated that the change was instituted to "better reflect the command's areas of responsibility, which includes 36 nations as well as both the Pacific and Indian Oceans." == List of commanders ==