A command in

military terminology Military terminology refers to the terminology, terms and language of military organizations, military personnel, personnel, and military doctrine. Much like other forms of corporate jargon, military terminology is distinguishable from colloquia ...

is an organisational unit for which a military commander is responsible. Commands, sometimes called units or formations, form the building blocks of a military. A commander is normally specifically appointed to the role in order to provide a

legal framework A legal doctrine is a framework, set of rules, Procedural law, procedural steps, or Test (law), test, often established through precedent in the common law, through which judgments can be determined in a given legal case. For example, a doctrine ...

for the authority bestowed.

Naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

and

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

officers have legal authority by virtue of their

officer's commission An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

, but the specific responsibilities and privileges of command are derived from the publication of appointment. The relevant definition of 'command' according to the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

(US DOD) is as follows:

Major Command

Major Command or Major Commands are large formations used by the

. Historically, a Major Command is the highest level of command. Within the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, the acronym MACOM is used for Major Command. Within the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF), the acronym MAJCOM is used. There are several types of DOD major commands: * List of major commands of the United States Air Force * List of major commands of the United States Army *

Naval Education and Training Command The Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) is an enterprise-level shore command (military formation), command of the United States Navy with more than 19,000 military and staff personnel at more than 1,640 subordinate activities, sites, dis ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

*Special operations commands such as Special Operations Command Europe *Unified commands overseas such as Multinational Force Iraq; United States Forces Iraq or Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan

Notes

{{Authority control Military units and formations by size

Major Command

See also

Notes