5th Service Command
On 4 June 1920, the National Defense Act of 1920 abolished the old territorial divisions and replaced them with nine corps areas. Each had roughly the same population in 1920, and the idea was that each would control at least one division each of the Regular Army, National Guard and Organized Reserve. The corps areas became responsible for defending the United States against invasion by Canada or Mexico. The corps areas did not work out as well as hoped. During the 1920s and 1930s, many installations, particularly those belonging to the supply arms and services, were exempted from their control; their tactical organization failed to materialize due to budget shortfalls; and the best maneuver areas were in the IV and VIII Corps Areas. In July 1940, the control of tactical forces was removed from the corps areas with the creation of General Headquarters, United States Army, leaving the corps areas with administrative responsibilities only.
Corps areas with corps mobilization responsibilities, 1921
The corps areas were renamed service commands on 10 July 1942. The new title reflected their status as administrative and supply agencies. Somervell saw them fulfilling the role of field agencies of the ASF. Army installations in the continental United States were divided into four categories. Class I installations were ASF installations, which were placed directly under the service commands; Class II installations were posts and stations of the Army Ground Forces; Class III installations were Army Air Forces bases; and Class IV installations were those which, on account of their technical nature, remained under the direct command of a chief of a technical or administrative service. These included the GOGO manufacturing plants, proving grounds, procurement offices and the ports of embarkation. Class I installations included recruiting stations, induction and reception centers, repair shops, enemy alien and prisoner of war camps, medical and dental laboratories, Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) units, dispensaries except for the General Dispensary in Washington, DC, finance offices, disciplinary barracks and named general hospitals except for Walter Reed General Hospital.
The boundaries of the service commands and the location of their headquarters were not changed, and they remained the same throughout the war with one exception. The Military District of Washington (MDW) was created in May 1942. It included the District of Columbia and Arlington County, Virginia. In August 1942 it was separated from the Third Service Command and assumed the status of a service command, except that its commander also served as the headquarters commandant for the War Department, and as such also reported to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army. The MDW was enlarged in December 1942 to include Fort Washington and Fort Belvoir. One additional service command was created: the Northwest Service Command, in September 1942, with its headquarters at Whitehorse in the Canadian Yukon Territory. 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. It was abolished on 30 June 1945, and its responsibilities were transferred to the Sixth Service Command. On 31 July 1943, 751,911 personnel were assigned to the service commands, representing 45 percent of the ASF.
The idea of a unified command of many arms and services was a familiar one to Army officers—the division was an expression of the concept—but it had not been applied to the continental United States before. With the creation of GHQ in 1940, the command of an Army post had become separated from that of the combat units stationed there, who became tenants of a Class II installation. At a Class II installation, there was a post commander who was responsible to the commanding general of the service command in which it was located. His job was to provide services to the AGF units stationed there. The principle was that the customer was always right, so the post commander complied with requests from the AGF units there. The increasingly stringent manpower situation from 1943 on meant that sometimes the post commander had to ask the AGF units for assistance.
Commanding generals of the service commands and the Military District of Washington
The technical services generally regarded their work as so specialized that it could only be carried out by dedicated field installations over which they had complete control. From the beginning, many procurement and storage installations were exempted from their control, becoming Class IV installations, and Gross successfully argued the case for the staging areas and ports of embarkation to also be exempt. On the other hand, there were many installations that had formerly been centrally controlled that now became Class I installations. These included the named general hospitals. To the ASF staff these were more Army posts with buildings to be maintained, staff and patients to be fed, and utilities to be provided. Sometimes there were even German and Italian prisoners of war to be guarded. The Surgeon General argued that these administrative tasks were incidental to the function of hospitals.
The Army Specialized Training Program and training for the Women's Army Corps were directly controlled by the service commands. Several training installations of the administrative and technical services were designated as Class IV installations. These included the School of Military Government under the Provost Marshal General, the Edgewood Arsenal under the Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service, Camp Lee under The Quartermaster General, the Aberdeen Proving Ground under the Chief of Ordnance, Fort Monmouth and Camp Murphy under the Chief Signal Officer, and Carlisle Barracks under the Surgeon General. However others were classified as Class I installations. These included the Signal Corps training center at Camp Crowder, the Engineer training centers at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Belvoir, the Quartermaster training center at Fort Warren, and the Transportation Corps training center at Camp Gordon Johnston. But in these cases the commandant or commanding officer was appointed, and training activities were those specified by, the chief of the technical service concerned. The difference between Class I and Class IV installations was never settled.
On 4 June 1920, the National Defense Act of 1920 abolished the old territorial divisions and replaced them with nine corps areas. Each had roughly the same population in 1920, and the idea was that each would control at least one division each of the Regular Army, National Guard and Organized Reserve. The corps areas became responsible for defending the United States against invasion by Canada or Mexico. The corps areas did not work out as well as hoped. During the 1920s and 1930s, many installations, particularly those belonging to the supply arms and services, were exempted from their control; their tactical organization failed to materialize due to budget shortfalls; and the best maneuver areas were in the IV and VIII Corps Areas. In July 1940, the control of tactical forces was removed from the corps areas with the creation of General Headquarters, United States Army, leaving the corps areas with administrative responsibilities only.
Corps areas with corps mobilization responsibilities, 1921
The corps areas were renamed service commands on 10 July 1942. The new title reflected their status as administrative and supply agencies. Somervell saw them fulfilling the role of field agencies of the ASF. Army installations in the continental United States were divided into four categories. Class I installations were ASF installations, which were placed directly under the service commands; Class II installations were posts and stations of the Army Ground Forces; Class III installations were Army Air Forces bases; and Class IV installations were those which, on account of their technical nature, remained under the direct command of a chief of a technical or administrative service. These included the GOGO manufacturing plants, proving grounds, procurement offices and the ports of embarkation. Class I installations included recruiting stations, induction and reception centers, repair shops, enemy alien and prisoner of war camps, medical and dental laboratories, Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) units, dispensaries except for the General Dispensary in Washington, DC, finance offices, disciplinary barracks and named general hospitals except for Walter Reed General Hospital.
The boundaries of the service commands and the location of their headquarters were not changed, and they remained the same throughout the war with one exception. The Military District of Washington (MDW) was created in May 1942. It included the District of Columbia and Arlington County, Virginia. In August 1942 it was separated from the Third Service Command and assumed the status of a service command, except that its commander also served as the headquarters commandant for the War Department, and as such also reported to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army. The MDW was enlarged in December 1942 to include Fort Washington and Fort Belvoir. One additional service command was created: the Northwest Service Command, in September 1942, with its headquarters at Whitehorse in the Canadian Yukon Territory. 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. It was abolished on 30 June 1945, and its responsibilities were transferred to the Sixth Service Command. On 31 July 1943, 751,911 personnel were assigned to the service commands, representing 45 percent of the ASF.
The idea of a unified command of many arms and services was a familiar one to Army officers—the division was an expression of the concept—but it had not been applied to the continental United States before. With the creation of GHQ in 1940, the command of an Army post had become separated from that of the combat units stationed there, who became tenants of a Class II installation. At a Class II installation, there was a post commander who was responsible to the commanding general of the service command in which it was located. His job was to provide services to the AGF units stationed there. The principle was that the customer was always right, so the post commander complied with requests from the AGF units there. The increasingly stringent manpower situation from 1943 on meant that sometimes the post commander had to ask the AGF units for assistance.
Commanding generals of the service commands and the Military District of Washington
The technical services generally regarded their work as so specialized that it could only be carried out by dedicated field installations over which they had complete control. From the beginning, many procurement and storage installations were exempted from their control, becoming Class IV installations, and Gross successfully argued the case for the staging areas and ports of embarkation to also be exempt. On the other hand, there were many installations that had formerly been centrally controlled that now became Class I installations. These included the named general hospitals. To the ASF staff these were more Army posts with buildings to be maintained, staff and patients to be fed, and utilities to be provided. Sometimes there were even German and Italian prisoners of war to be guarded. The Surgeon General argued that these administrative tasks were incidental to the function of hospitals.
The Army Specialized Training Program and training for the Women's Army Corps were directly controlled by the service commands. Several training installations of the administrative and technical services were designated as Class IV installations. These included the School of Military Government under the Provost Marshal General, the Edgewood Arsenal under the Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service, Camp Lee under The Quartermaster General, the Aberdeen Proving Ground under the Chief of Ordnance, Fort Monmouth and Camp Murphy under the Chief Signal Officer, and Carlisle Barracks under the Surgeon General. However others were classified as Class I installations. These included the Signal Corps training center at Camp Crowder, the Engineer training centers at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Belvoir, the Quartermaster training center at Fort Warren, and the Transportation Corps training center at Camp Gordon Johnston. But in these cases the commandant or commanding officer was appointed, and training activities were those specified by, the chief of the technical service concerned. The difference between Class I and Class IV installations was never settled.
On 4 June 1920, the National Defense Act of 1920 abolished the old territorial divisions and replaced them with nine corps areas. Each had roughly the same population in 1920, and the idea was that each would control at least one division each of the Regular Army, National Guard and Organized Reserve. The corps areas became responsible for defending the United States against invasion by Canada or Mexico. The corps areas did not work out as well as hoped. During the 1920s and 1930s, many installations, particularly those belonging to the supply arms and services, were exempted from their control; their tactical organization failed to materialize due to budget shortfalls; and the best maneuver areas were in the IV and VIII Corps Areas. In July 1940, the control of tactical forces was removed from the corps areas with the creation of General Headquarters, United States Army, leaving the corps areas with administrative responsibilities only.
Corps areas with corps mobilization responsibilities, 1921
The corps areas were renamed service commands on 10 July 1942. The new title reflected their status as administrative and supply agencies. Somervell saw them fulfilling the role of field agencies of the ASF. Army installations in the continental United States were divided into four categories. Class I installations were ASF installations, which were placed directly under the service commands; Class II installations were posts and stations of the Army Ground Forces; Class III installations were Army Air Forces bases; and Class IV installations were those which, on account of their technical nature, remained under the direct command of a chief of a technical or administrative service. These included the GOGO manufacturing plants, proving grounds, procurement offices and the ports of embarkation. Class I installations included recruiting stations, induction and reception centers, repair shops, enemy alien and prisoner of war camps, medical and dental laboratories, Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) units, dispensaries except for the General Dispensary in Washington, DC, finance offices, disciplinary barracks and named general hospitals except for Walter Reed General Hospital.
The boundaries of the service commands and the location of their headquarters were not changed, and they remained the same throughout the war with one exception. The Military District of Washington (MDW) was created in May 1942. It included the District of Columbia and Arlington County, Virginia. In August 1942 it was separated from the Third Service Command and assumed the status of a service command, except that its commander also served as the headquarters commandant for the War Department, and as such also reported to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army. The MDW was enlarged in December 1942 to include Fort Washington and Fort Belvoir. One additional service command was created: the Northwest Service Command, in September 1942, with its headquarters at Whitehorse in the Canadian Yukon Territory. 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. It was abolished on 30 June 1945, and its responsibilities were transferred to the Sixth Service Command. On 31 July 1943, 751,911 personnel were assigned to the service commands, representing 45 percent of the ASF.
The idea of a unified command of many arms and services was a familiar one to Army officers—the division was an expression of the concept—but it had not been applied to the continental United States before. With the creation of GHQ in 1940, the command of an Army post had become separated from that of the combat units stationed there, who became tenants of a Class II installation. At a Class II installation, there was a post commander who was responsible to the commanding general of the service command in which it was located. His job was to provide services to the AGF units stationed there. The principle was that the customer was always right, so the post commander complied with requests from the AGF units there. The increasingly stringent manpower situation from 1943 on meant that sometimes the post commander had to ask the AGF units for assistance.
Commanding generals of the service commands and the Military District of Washington
The technical services generally regarded their work as so specialized that it could only be carried out by dedicated field installations over which they had complete control. From the beginning, many procurement and storage installations were exempted from their control, becoming Class IV installations, and Gross successfully argued the case for the staging areas and ports of embarkation to also be exempt. On the other hand, there were many installations that had formerly been centrally controlled that now became Class I installations. These included the named general hospitals. To the ASF staff these were more Army posts with buildings to be maintained, staff and patients to be fed, and utilities to be provided. Sometimes there were even German and Italian prisoners of war to be guarded. The Surgeon General argued that these administrative tasks were incidental to the function of hospitals.
The Army Specialized Training Program and training for the Women's Army Corps were directly controlled by the service commands. Several training installations of the administrative and technical services were designated as Class IV installations. These included the School of Military Government under the Provost Marshal General, the Edgewood Arsenal under the Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service, Camp Lee under The Quartermaster General, the Aberdeen Proving Ground under the Chief of Ordnance, Fort Monmouth and Camp Murphy under the Chief Signal Officer, and Carlisle Barracks under the Surgeon General. However others were classified as Class I installations. These included the Signal Corps training center at Camp Crowder, the Engineer training centers at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Belvoir, the Quartermaster training center at Fort Warren, and the Transportation Corps training center at Camp Gordon Johnston. But in these cases the commandant or commanding officer was appointed, and training activities were those specified by, the chief of the technical service concerned. The difference between Class I and Class IV installations was never settled.