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Defend--
If you would, please develop your point on how/why you think DoS geographic divisions make more sense.
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I was hoping you'd ask
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Keeping this focused, I’m going to focus on the State Department’s AF/NEA/SCA versus AFRICOM/CENTCOM/PACOM. I’m sure an entire thesis could be written on the subject, so please give me some grace for writing this on limited time.
Framing your initial question into practical examples should make this easier. Should India be grouped with Thailand and Japan (DoD) or Afghanistan and Pakistan(DoS)? Should Tunisia be grouped with Zimbabwe (DoD) or Iraq (DoS)?
A region can be compared to a family of nations. Sometimes you are born into the family, sometimes adopted (e.g. Australia, as mentioned by silentreader, although clearly there are many historical reasons for this adoption and for the current population of Australia). My goal is to identify the blood relatives in the family tree. Here are the characteristics that are foundational in identifying these families.
1. Geographic (timeless):
“Are these countries geographically similar?”
2. Cultural (progressive present):
“Do these countries share similar cultural norms or ethnic history?”
3. Linguistic (historical):
“Do these countries share linguistic roots?”
4. Diplomatic (present):
“Do these countries today view each other as related?”
My personal opinion is that three of the four questions should be answered with “yes” to consider countries to be in the same region. Let’s run the test on two countries – Lebanon and Morocco.
1. Are these countries geographically similar? For our purposes,
yes. Although located on different continents, both countries are coastal to the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco serves as the southern gateway to the Mediterranean.
2. Do these countries share similar cultural norms or ethnic history?
Yes. Both countries were conquered by Arab Islamic invaders. Additionally, this conquest led to Arab (Berber) domination among the population of Morocco.
3. Do these countries share linguistic roots?
Yes. The majority of both populations speak Arabic, as well as French (although in this case the French is almost irrelevant).
4. Do these countries today view each other as related?
Yes. Both countries are members of the Arab League, and work together on regional initiatives.
So are these countries in the same region? I would say
yes. Next lets test Afghanistan and Jordan.
1. Are these countries geographically similar?
No.
2. Do these countries share cultural norms or ethnic history?
No. Although both countries are have a strong Islamic majority, Afghanistan is not Arab and is more closely related to the cultures of Pakistan and the other “Stans, Iran, and even Northern India (PACOM) than it is to the Arab world.
3. Do these countries share linguistic roots?
No.
4. Do these countries today view each other as related?
No. Afghanistan has never been a member of the Arab League. Jordanian involvement in Afghanistan is linked to counter-terrorism initiatives through coalition involvement, not in bilateral regional development.
Overall, the State Departments defined regions much more consistently presents related countries as opposed to the Department of Defense command boundaries.
In modern warfare understanding the culture, sociology, and psychology of our AOR is as important to the success of our mission as the weapons we carry. I don't see how DoD command boundaries reflect this truth. But maybe that's just my 37F kernel displaying it's source code
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If you think there is a better way to look at it, feel free to explain.
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