Army Service Forces

Army Service Forces
Army Service Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.
Active	9 March 1942 – 11 June 1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell

The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942.

Origins[]

By late 1941, there was dissatisfaction with the existing structure of the United States Army, and a recognition that change was required in order to fight World War II, which the United States was on the brink of entering. Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair, the chief of staff of General Headquarters (GHQ), had broad responsibility for the organization and training of ground combat troops, but this brought him into conflict with the chiefs of the arms and services. At the same time, the Army Air Forces (AAF) sought greater autonomy. The establishment of an independent air force had been an aspiration of air officers between the wars, and despite the establishment of AAF in June 1941, they were still not satisfied with their status in what they saw as a war in which air power would play a dominant role. In October 1941, the AAF recommended the creation of autonomous air and ground forces, supported by a service force.^[1] However, the main driver was the Chief of Staff, General George Marshall, who felt overwhelmed by the large number of officers and agencies—at least 61—with direct access to him, and he received about fifty staff studies each day. This was in spite of explicit orders to bring to his attention only matters that could not be handled by anyone else.^[2]

The agencies reporting directly to the Chief of Staff could be divided into five groups:

• The War Department General Staff (WDGS) in Washington, DC. This was divided into five divisions, each with its own Assistant Chief of Staff. There were also three deputy chiefs of staff, one each for supply, administration and the air. The Deputy Chief for Air was also the chief of the AAF.^[3]
• The two major commands, the AAF and GHQ. These were responsible for the preparation and training of air and ground combat units respectively. GHQ was also responsible for the defense of the continental United states, which was conducted through four defense commands,^[4] the Central, Eastern, Southern and Western, which had been formed on 17 May 1941.^[5] GHQ had been set up with the idea that it would command the forces overseas, as had occurred in World War I, but by early 1942 it was apparent that World War II would be fought in many theaters. The Chief of Staff was the commanding general of both the WDGS and GHQ, but the two were quite separate entities.^[1]
• The chiefs of the combat arms, service arms and administrative bureaux. These were located in Washington, DC, and had responsibility for training schools and the development of doctrine.^[3]
• There were four armies that controlled the combat troops located in the United States, and nine corps areas that provided them with services and managed most military posts. In late 1941 the corps areas were engaged in the task of inducting civilians and mobilization of the Army.
• There were also some miscellaneous installations, such as the United States Military Academy, United States Army Command and General Staff College and the ports of embarakation.^[3]

The G-4 Division of the WDGS, which was responsible for supply, was headed from 25 November 1941 by Brigadier General Brehon B. Somervell. Supply was a critical issue, and became more so after the United States entered the war in December. The mobilization of the Army was being slowed by shortages of equipment, as was the deployment of troops overseas. If the United States Army was to take the field in 1942, production would need to be stepped up, but this was not the responsibility of G-4, but of the Under Secretary of War,^[6] Robert P. Patterson. The Office of the Under Secretary of War (OUSW) had grown from 78 people on 1 July 1939 to 1,136 on 1 November 1941.^[4] Somervell saw that the closest cooperation between G-4 and the OUSW was required, and he asked a New York attorney, Goldthwaite H. Dorr, to study the supply organization of the supply organization of the War Department.^[7]

Marshall called his staff together for a meeting on 3 February 1942, where he explained the new organization that he was considering. He wanted no more than three commands reporting to him, so everything which did not fit into the Army Ground Forces or Army Air Forces would became part of the Services of Supply. He gave his staff 48 hours to review the proposal and offer suggestions. The officer in charge of the reorganization, Major General Joseph T. McNarney, told Somervell to draw up an organization for a supply agency. Like McNarney's work, it had to be done in secret so as not to give the anticipated opposition a chance to organize. Somervell immediately contacted Dorr. They were assisted by two staff officers, Colonel Wilhelm D. Styer and Lieutenant Colonel . An important decision was to accept the continued existence of the supply arms and services, although a new transportation organization would be created. This meant that procurement would remain decentralized, but a position of Director of Procurement and Distribution was created. It was recognized that an organization devoted to supply would be preferable, but since Marshall wanted three agencies, not four, it was accepted that the administrative bureaux would also be part of the new organization, and these were placed under a Chief of Administrative Services. Somervell gave the proposed organization structure to McNarney in the second week of February.^[8]

The new organization was ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department".^[9] Details were provided in War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March, and the new organization was publicly announced by the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, in a press release that day. It went into effect on 9 March, and Somervell assumed command of the Services of Supply.^[10] The Services of Supply was renamed the Army Service Forces on 12 March 1943, as it was felt that the term "supply" did not accurately describe their broad range of activities.^[11]

Insignia[]

According to the website of the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, the insignia of the Army Service Forces consisted of "a blue five-pointed star, one point up, 13⁄8 inches in diameter on a white background within a red border, outside diameter 21⁄4 inches, inside invected of six." The design invokes the red, white and blue national colours of the United States. The patch was approved for wearing by War Department Overhead on 30 July 1941, Services of Supply on 27 March 1942, Army Service Forces on 12 March 1943, Technical and Administrative Services in June 1946, Department of the Army Staff Support on 8 October 1969, and Department of the Army Field Operating Agencies on 29 October 1996.^[12]

Organization[]

Organization of the Army Service Forces 15 August 1944.

Army Service Forces, throughout the war under the command of General Brehon B. Somervell, brought together elements of five different components of the Army: elements of the War Department General Staff, especially its G-4 component; the Office of the Under Secretary of War; the eight administrative bureaus; the nine corps areas, which became the service commands; and the six supply arms and services, which became known as the technical services.

Technical Services[]

Six Technical Services found themselves part of Army Service Forces when they were grouped in 1942: the Corps of Engineers, Signal Corps, Ordnance Department, Quartermaster Corps, Chemical Corps and Medical Corps. A seventh technical service, the Transportation Corps, was established as the Transportation Division on 28 February 1942 under Executive Order 9082. It was renamed the Transportation Service in April 1942 and became a corps in its own right on 31 July 1942. The Transportation Corps took over control of the ports of embarkation, regulating points and railways.

Unlike the chiefs of the combat arms, who had their offices abolished and their authority transferred to the Chief of Army Ground Forces, neither the duties nor the structure of the technical services were altered by their becoming part of the Army Service Forces, but their status changed, and the chiefs no longer had direct access to the Chief of Staff or the Secretary of War.

Each of the Technical Services ran its own procurement and field depots.

Service Commands[]

Notes[]

References[]

• Bolin, Robert (1943). Army Service Forces, Organization Manual. U.S. Army Administrative Publications. Washington, D.C.: Army Service Forces, Department of the Army. OCLC 84408333.
• Conn, Stetson; Engelman, Rose C.; Fairchild, Byron (1961). Guarding the United States and Its Outposts (PDF). Washington, DC: Center of Military History, Department of the Army. OCLC 1348044.
• Millett, John D. (1954). The Organization and Role of the Army Service Forces (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. OCLC 631289493.
• Ohl, John Kennedy (1994). Supplying the Troops: General Somervell and American Logistics in World War II. DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois Press. ISBN 0-87580-185-4. OCLC 1023086738.
• Smith, R. Elberton (1959). The Army and Economic Mobilization (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. OCLC 23225857.