United States Unified Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The United States Armed Forces Command includes two components: (1) The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff; (2) The United States Armed Forces Unified Command Plan.
The United States Armed Forces Unified Command Plan divides the world into nine strategic military regions, from the original Pacific Theater and Atlantic Theater. New commands were added in 2002 under the direction of Donald Rumsfeld, creating the US Northern Command, US Joint Forces Command, US Strategic Command and eliminating the US Space Command. Each command is administered by an appointed Commander-in-Chief under whom all forces within the region serve.
