The only reason I was able to make that decision was because I knew that we had the finest fighting force in the world, and that if I gave a command to our troops, they would be able to accomplish that mission.

WHITEHOUSE: Thanking the 10th Mountain Division

But it's one thing to put people in uniform, and another thing to have clear command structure, or the capacity to move troops from point A to point B, or the capacity to make sure that the troop carrier from point A to point B has got the necessary air in its tires or oil in its engine.

NPR: Maliki Assures Bush on Iraqi Force's Readiness

During the campaign, Hollande also raised questions about Sarkozy's decision in 2009 to place French troops under NATO command.

CNN: Early foreign policy tests await France's Hollande

Under the peace agreement, northern troops should have been withdrawn in July, to be replaced by a joint command of northern and southern troops.

ECONOMIST: South Sudan

Russia said on Tuesday it was ready to commit up to 10, 000 troops to help enforce the peace deal, although not under NATO's command.

CNN: Clinton

While the U.S. does not plan to contribute troops, it will provide logistical support, command-and-control assistance and intelligence.

NPR: Bush Defends Iraq Strategy, Resists Call to Leave

Then, in 2009, President Obama ordered tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan, and asked McChrystal to command all American and international forces.

NEWYORKER: Remote Control

Gen Carter Ham of United States Africa Command (Africom) said its forces had failed to train Malian troops on "values, ethics and a military ethos".

BBC: Mali crisis: US admits mistakes in training local troops

Jack Keane, then the Army's deputy chief of staff, told the historians of his reaction to a June 2003 decision to transfer control of all coalition troops away from the land forces command that had been preparing for the mission.

CNN: Army criticizes itself in Iraq invasion report

"I know the method I used was not right, but I wanted to take care of my soldiers, " West testified to a military courtroom of observers and some teary-eyed troops formerly under his command.

CNN: U.S. officer fined for harsh interrogation tactics

On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years.

WHITEHOUSE: George Washington

These troops come as formed units and are very largely under their own national command day-to-day, even though there are standards of behavior laid down by the UN.

BBC: What You've Said