The Melting Point

High Command and War in the 21st Century by General Frank McKenzie, USMC (Ret) - A Combatant Commander’s Insights on Managing Modern Conflict and Crisis

“I set out to explain what the job of a combatant commander entails—from coordinating theater-wide operations to navigating high-stakes decisions with national leaders.” – General Frank McKenzie

As the quote above explains, General Frank McKenzie's The Melting Point attempts to describe a combatant commander's role during war and crisis. The timeframe covers the period when the author was the Central Command or CENTCOM Theater Commander from 2019 to 2022. McKenzie states that the title was taken from Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, where Tuchman referenced “that melting-point of warfare–the temperament of the individual commander.” Unlike the CJCS and Service Chiefs, a combatant commander is in the chain of command at the melting point between policy and execution.