Operational Control (OPCON)
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- Transferable command authority that may be exercised by commanders at any echelon at or below the level of combatant command. Operational control is inherent in Combatant Command (command authority) and is the authority to perform those functions of command over subordinate forces involving organizing and employing commands and forces, assigning tasks, designating objectives, and giving authoritative direction necessary to accomplish missions assigned to the command. Operational control should be exercised through the commanders of subordinate organizations; normally this authority is exercised through the Service component commanders. Operational control normally provides full authority to organize commands and forces and to employ those forces, as the commander in operational control considers necessary to accomplish assigned missions. Operational control does not, in and of itself, include authoritative direction for logistics or matters of administration, discipline, internal organization, or unit training.
DoD Missile Defense Agency - Cite This Source - This Definition - Area Air Defense Commander (AADC), CJTF, Combatant Command (COCOM), Command Center (CC), Force Closure, JLC, JMCIS, Joint Doctrine, Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC), Joint Force Commander (JFC), Joint Force Land Component Commander (JFLCC), Joint Force Special Operations Component Commander (JFSOCC), JSOC