For now, the battle group commander remains on-scene commander.

The on-scene commander has got to be free to choose his weapons, and that means having somebody with enough savvy to know how to do it.

"The on-scene commander can make the kind of decisions he needs to."

I received this morning," she continued, "a report forwarded from the on-scene commander.

"If an allied naval vessel comes under attack and asks for our assistance, the on-scene commander has the right to respond," the official said.

If the on-scene commander wanted to go in, he wouldn't second-guess him.

Participation must be verified by the on-scene commander.

"Have five to six individuals with AK-47s," they tell the on-scene commander, after identifying only one or two armed people on the street.

Without obtaining additional resources judged needed by the on-scene commanders and staff, they took on a peace enforcement mission.

No, another airplane saw two good chutes and is the on-scene commander.