Afstan: Two new commands likely to replace RC South

Further to this post,

Afstan: Bye bye ISAF Regional Command South as US takes control

a British general remains in charge at Kandahar, but only until later this year--note even more US troops coming, also who's doing the redrawing:

U.S. Redraws Afghan Command
Coalition Prepares to Establish New Military Headquarters in South Before Major Surge Offensive

WASHINGTON—The U.S. and its allies are working to create a new American-led military command in southern Afghanistan, setting the stage for a large-scale offensive into the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Senior military officials say the new command will manage all military operations in Helmand province, including the continuing campaign in Marjah. The plan would allow the existing British-led command in southern Afghanistan to focus on the Kandahar campaign.

Many of the 30,000 U.S. reinforcements being deployed to Afghanistan will take part in the assault on Kandahar, the most populous city in southern Afghanistan and the Taliban's spiritual birthplace.

U.S. and British commanders plan to deploy the additional troops to build a security cordon around the city to make it harder for Taliban fighters to intimidate local residents or assassinate Afghan government officials and security personnel there...

All military operations in both Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province are currently managed by Regional Command South, which has its headquarters at the sprawling Kandahar Air Field and is currently led by a British general. Under the new plan that organization will be renamed Regional Command Southeast and directed to focus exclusively on the upcoming Kandahar campaign.

At the same time, the U.S. will build a new command, Regional Command Southwest, at Camp Bastion, a rapidly expanding American base near Lashkar Gah, Helmand's capital. The command will be headed by a two-star Marine general, who hasn't yet been tapped for the post...

The idea for the changes in the command structure originated with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top Western military officer in Afghanistan.

Rear Adm. Greg Smith, a spokesman for Gen. McChrystal, said the commander's strategic review of the war effort last summer concluded that the main military offensives going forward would all be in southern Afghanistan and "that the number of forces would exceed the command and control capacity of a single regional commander."

Adm. Smith said he expected a final decision on the command changes within the next month [emphasis added].

Regional Command South is led by British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, the architect of the Marjah offensive. With a new command established, Gen. Carter would shift his focus to Kandahar, leaving the incoming U.S. general to oversee operations in Helmand.

Gen. Carter is set to relinquish his command to a U.S. army general late next year as part of a standard rotation of authority, putting American officers at the helm of military headquarters in eastern and southern Afghanistan, the war's main battlegrounds [emphasis added]...

The U.S. will send at least one new brigade from the Army's 101st Airborne Division to Kandahar later this spring [more here], which will push Western troop levels up by at least 4,000.

A senior military official said another incoming brigade may also be sent to Kandahar this year, and other troops will be redeployed from within Afghanistan for the offensive [emphasis added]. "There won't be a shortage of manpower, and that's a huge change from every earlier attempt to secure the city," the officer said. "Kandahar had always been the definition of an 'economy of force' mission, and the Taliban exploited that to the hilt."

Gen. McChrystal and other top U.S. officials hope the upcoming offensive will bring the city back under Afghan government control...