Army Service Forces
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, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large commands, the Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, drastically reduced the number of officers and agencies reporting directly to him. The Army Service Forces brought together elements of five different components of the Army: elements of the War Department General Staff (WDGS), especially its G-4 division (responsible for logistics); the Office of the Under Secretary of War; the eight administrative bureaus; the nine corps areas, which became service commands; and the six supply arms and services, which became known as the technical services. The Army Service Forces was initially known as the United States Army Services of Supply but the name was changed on 12 March 1943, as it was felt that the term "supply" did not accurately describe the broad range of its activities. The Army Service Forces was abolished on 11 June 1946 and most of its functions were taken over by the War Department General Staff.
Army Service Forces
For most of its existence, the Army Service Forces was commanded by General Brehon B. Somervell, with Lieutenant General Wilhelm D. Styer as his chief of staff. After Styer left for the Pacific, he was succeeded by Major General LeRoy Lutes on 18 April 1945. Brigadier General Lucius D. Clay was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Requirements and Resources, and as such he was responsible for the development of the Army Supply Program, the operation of the Lend-Lease program, and liaison with the War Production Board concerning the allocation of raw materials. Although he had his own logistics staff in the G-4 division of the War Department General Staff, it was to Somervell and Styer that Marshall turned to for advice on logistical matters, and it was Somervell who attended the important wartime conferences.
Six supply arms and services became part of the new organization: the Corps of Engineers, Signal Corps, Ordnance Department, Quartermaster Corps, Chemical Warfare Service and the Medical Department. They were designated "supply services" in April 1942, and "technical services" in April 1943. A seventh technical service, the Transportation Corps, was created in July 1942. The technical services developed military equipment, manufactured or purchased it, stored it in depots, maintained and repaired it, and issued it to the troops. Each had its own budget, and together they accounted for half of the Army's appropriations.
The service commands were the field agencies of the ASF. There were initially nine of these, each responsible for a different geographical region. In August 1942 the Military District of Washington also assumed the status of a service command. The Northwest Service Command was created in September 1942. It was responsible for the construction and maintenance of the Alaska Highway, the operation of the railway between Skagway, Alaska and Whitehorse, and the Canol Project. Army installations in the continental United States that were placed directly under the service commands included recruiting stations, induction and reception centers, repair shops, enemy alien and prisoner of war camps, medical and dental laboratories, Reserve Officers' Training Corps units, dispensaries, finance offices, disciplinary barracks and named general hospitals except for the Walter Reed General Hospital.
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 G-4 Division of the WDGS, which was responsible for logistics, 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 become 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 Clinton F. Robinson. 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 bureaus 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 United States Army Services of Supply (USASOS).[10] The Services of Supply was renamed the Army Service Forces (ASF) on 12 March 1943, as it was felt that the term "supply" did not accurately describe its broad range of activities.[11]
Insignia[edit]
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[edit]
Staff divisions[edit]
The Army Service Forces 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. Somervell commanded the Army Service Forces for most of its existence.[13] For most of the war, Styer was his chief of staff. He left for the Pacific on 18 April 1945, and was succeeded by Major General LeRoy Lutes.[14] In the directive that created the USASOS, Somervell created the position of Deputy Chief of Staff for Requirements and Resources, which was initially filled by Brigadier General Lucius D. Clay. He was responsible for the development of the Army Supply Program, the operation of the Lend-Lease program, and liaison with the War Production Board concerning the allocation of raw materials.[13] He was succeeded by Howard Bruce on 27 November 1944.[15]
Abolished[edit]
On 30 August 1945, Marshall created a board head by Lieutenant General Alexander M. Patch to review the organization of the War Department. The board had no officers from the ASF staff but two came from the technical services. The board submitted its recommendations to the Chief of Staff on 18 October. These were that the technical services be continued, with the Transportation Corps made permanent, and that the Finance Department becoming an eighth technical service. There would be six administrative services: the Adjutant General's Department, the Judge Advocate General's Department, the Corps of Chaplains, the Office of the Provost Marshal General, and the Special Services Division. Their activities would be supervised by a Director of Personnel and Administration in the WDGS. The service commands would be abolished, and their functions transferred to the Armies. The ASF would also be abolished, and its staff sections transferred to the WDGS.[95]
Eisenhower succeeded Marshall as Chief of Staff on 19 November 1945,[96] and Somervell's retirement was announced on 26 December, effective 30 April 1946.[97] He was succeeded as commander of ASF by Lutes on 1 January 1946.[98] On 13 May 1946, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9722, which amended Executive Order 9082, and gave the Secretary of War thirty days "to reassign to such agencies and officers of the War Department as he may deem appropriate the functions, duties, and powers heretofore assigned to the service of supply command and to the Commanding General, Services of Supply.[99] War Department Circular 138 abolishing ASF was issued the following day implementing the new organization, effective 11 June 1946.[100]
The Army Service Forces was successful in terms of the mission given to it by Marshall when it was created in March 1942: it relieved him of the burden of having large numbers of people reporting to him, and gave him a single person who could handle logistics. Much of the criticism of the ASF involved the personality of Somervell, but it was his energy, drive, and determination to achieve efficiencies that made the ASF the organization that it was.[97] In the new organization, Lutes became the Director of Service, Supply and Procurement on the WDGS. The position was later renamed the Director of Logistics. Procedures developed by the ASF remained in place. On 1 November 1948, the technical services were subordinated to the Director of Logistics, and the administrative services to the Director of Personnel and Administration.[101]