What This Field Means
The command directing or employing the unit for an operation, deployment, exercise, or assigned mission.
This identifies the command that directs or employs the unit for a mission, operation, deployment, exercise, or contingency. It explains the chain a veteran may remember from a specific tour even when permanent administrative ownership was elsewhere.
How to Read It Correctly
Operational command does not automatically change service, component, parentage, lineage, or administrative control. The command name alone also does not specify whether the authority was COCOM authority, OPCON, or TACON.
Example
A combatant command or joint task force employing the unit during an operation.
Technical Specification
The database column is [USMIL-Unit].[Unit].[OperationalCommand]. Optional scalar narrative summarizing operational command. It must remain distinct from administrative ownership and from the specific authority delegated.
Record the evidenced operational headquarters together with context and effective period when known. Use Command Authority to state the type of control rather than embedding an unsupported assumption in the command name.
| Property | Definition or current value |
|---|---|
| Database column | OperationalCommand |
| Column order | 34 |
| SQL data type | nvarchar(1024) |
| Kind of information | Evidence-derived text |
| Cardinality | One stored value per Unit row. |
| Required | No; NULL is permitted |
| Database default | No database default |
| Key or relationship | None |
| Database check constraint | ([CurrentStatus]=N'Planned' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Status unknown' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Historical' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Inactive' OR [CurrentStatus]=N'Current') |
| Live population | 1646 of 9341 Unit records (17.62%) |
| Distinct nonblank values in the live table | 1067 |
| Live profile measured | September 2, 2026, 20:43 UTC |
Allowed Values and Definitions
No preset menu applies to this field. It stores an identifier, relationship, measurement, date, timestamp, or evidence-derived narrative. Valid content is governed by the SQL type, key relationship, nullability, retained evidence, and the field-specific recording rule above. A list of observed contents would be data, not a list of allowed options.
Missing, Unknown, and Conflicting Information
A database NULL is permitted and means that no value is presently stored. It does not prove that the fact never existed, that the answer is no, or that the concept does not apply. Missing information must remain visibly different from a supported negative or inapplicable conclusion.
Connections to Other Fields
- Administrative Command — The service-side organization responsible for administration, readiness, personnel, training, and support.
- Command Authority — The kind of authority one commander or command has over the unit for a particular purpose.
- Operational Context — The operation, campaign, exercise, contingency, or standing plan in which a command relationship or unit activity applies.
- Assignment Status — How the unit is connected to another command—assigned, allocated, attached, supporting, or supported.
- Historical Command Alignment — The higher administrative or operational commands associated with the unit during a particular historical period.