Founded on January 1, 1947, by the United States government under the direction of President Harry S. Truman, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (originally known as PACOM) came into being as the very first unified military command. The idea sparked after the chaos of World War II, when military leaders realized that having separate commands for the Army and Navy in the Pacific was inefficient. They decided to create a single headquarters that would control all branches of the military—Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—within the region to ensure better coordination during future conflicts. Today, the command is "owned" and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense. Today, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is run by a four-star Admiral and is mainly focused on military operations, international security, and humanitarian aid. Their website covers news regarding joint training exercises with allied nations, disaster relief missions, and strategic defense updates concerning the Asian and Pacific regions. They are based at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii, overlooking Pearl Harbor. One interesting fact: A unique fact about U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is the sheer scale of the area it is responsible for. It is the largest of all U.S. military commands, covering roughly 52% of the Earth's surface. Its territory stretches from the waters off the U.S. West Coast all the way to the border of India, and from Antarctica to the North Pole, encompassing 36 different nations and more than half of the world's population.