AP 12/31
   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
believes the military services should operate under a single command
when dealing with regional crises, according to Pentagon sources.
   The sources said Wednesday that Gen. Colin Powell is recommending
that such forces be consolidated under the U.S. Atlantic Command in
Norfolk, Va. -- and not necessarily be commanded by a Navy admiral
as is the case now.
   The report, ordered up by Congress, also envisions the new
command taking charge of any U.S. participation in United Nations
peacekeeping missions and overseeing disaster relief efforts, said
the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
   The report has gone to Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and
commanders around the world for their comments. It is to be written
every three years to provide an updated review of the roles and
missions adopted by the various branches of the armed services.
   However, Powell's latest version lacks the sweeping revisions
endorsed by President-elect Clinton and key Democrats in Congress,
the sources said.
   It "contains recommendations on the redistribution of certain
types of military assets" but no major realignment of the military
branches, said one source.
   Another official said the report "is consistent" with Powell's
past calls for some readjustments. "I didn't find a lot of sweeping
changes here."
   Cheney has told reporters he might let his successor in the
Clinton administration deal with the final report and send it to
Congress.
   President-elect Clinton's nominee for defense secretary, House
Armed Services Committee Chairman Les Aspin, D-Wis., has called for
far deeper cuts in defense spending than Cheney and Powell want,
including reducing the size of the Army from 12 to nine divisions.
   Sam Nunn, D-Ga., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
has recommended consolidating the air units of the Army, Navy and
Marine Corps under the Air Force.
   The draft report turns that and several similar suggestions
aside, said one source. Powell has defended the current air defense
structure, saying each service's air component served the nation
well in the Desert Storm war with Iraq.
   Instead, the source said, the draft holds to Powell's long-stated
views that duplications should be eliminated in such areas as basic
flight training and support functions.
   The report also includes at least one new proposal likely to draw
flak in Congress: According to The New York Times, Powell wants to
eliminate 10 Air National Guard jet fighter squadrons operating from
17 domestic bases.