The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was 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. Services of Supply became one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States on 9 March 1942.[1] It was renamed the Army Service Forces on 12 March 1943, as it was felt that the term "supply" did not accurately describe its broad range of activities. From the day of inception (and even before) in 1942 through the end of WWII, the SOS/ASF was commanded by Lieutenant General (later General) Brehon B. Somervell.
Most theaters of war had their own logistical organization, usually also named the Services of Supply. The European Theater, and its SOS was subdivided into the ETO and the MTO (Mediterranean Theater of Operations) for the Operation Torch invasion of North Africa, then Sicily, then Italy, though the MTO was largely supplied by the SOS out of Great Britain. The SOS-ETO became TSF/ET (Theater Service Forces—European Theater) on D-Day, 6 June 1944, the term SOS was abolished, and its activities on the continent were referred to as COM-Z, or Communications Zone.
The Services of Supply, European Theater of Operations (ETO), was established in Cheltenham, England[5] on 24 May 1942 under the command of Major GeneralJohn C. H. Lee. Almost two years of build up followed, supporting the North African Campaign and eventually the Invasion of Normandy. The command was redesignated COMZ (Communications Zone) after the 6 June 1944 invasion. Within COMZ was ADSEC (the Advance Section, Communications Zone) and FECOMZ (Forward Echelon, Communications Zone). This command was divided in the fall of 1942 to include service and supply functions in the North African Theater of Operations to support the Operation Torch invasion of North Africa, and the subsequent invasions of Sicily, Italy, and southern France. Lee's deputy, Brigadier General Thomas B. Larkin, was spun off from the SOS-ETO to direct this effort for the duration of the war, ending the conflict with the title Commanding General, Army Service Forces, Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The development of telecommunications infrastructure in the region of Cheltenham was one of the major reasons why the GCHQ was moved to the town after American operations ceased.[5]
China-Burma-India Theater
The activation of Services of Supply, China, Burma and India (SOS CBI) was authorized by the War Department on 28 February 1942. The Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (Provisional), SOS USAF CBI, was activated as a subordinate command of USAF CBI at Karachi, India, 23 April 1942. Headquarters, SOS USAF CBI, was initially located in Karachi but moved to New Delhi on 26 May 1942. It was commanded by Brigadier General Raymond A. Wheeler from 28 February 1942 (with the rank of major general from 11 March 1942); then Brigadier General William E. R. Covell from 15 November 1943 (with the rank of major general from 29 November 1943); Brigadier General John A Warden from 18 December 1944; and Major General William E. R. Covell from 10 February 1945.[6] Services of Supply, China, Burma and India was redesignated Services of Supply, India Burma Theater (SOS IBT) on 2 November 1944 when the theater was split in two. On 10 November Advance Section No. 1, SOS IBT, was redesignated Supply, China Theater, with its headquarters at Kunming, China. It was commanded by Major General Gilbert X. Cheves from 12 November 1944, and Major General Henry S. Aurand from 25 May 45.[6]
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Forces (AGF), United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), and Army Service Forces (ASF) operations north of Italy and the Mediterranean coast. It was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), which later became the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA).
The Tenth Air Force is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field, Texas.
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II consisted of the campaigns of the Pacific War in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Indochina, Burma, India, Malaya and Singapore between 1941 and 1945.
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces in the CBI was officially the responsibility of the Supreme Commanders for South East Asia or China. However, US forces in practice were usually overseen by General Joseph Stilwell, the Deputy Allied Commander in China; the term "CBI" was significant in logistical, material and personnel matters; it was and is commonly used within the US for these theaters.
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army forces which fought in North Africa and Italy during World War II.
The 16th Airlift Squadron is an active unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the 437th Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command. It is based at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. The squadron operates Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission worldwide.
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint Department of Defense combatant command responsible for U.S. security interests in 27 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa through the Persian Gulf region, into Central Asia.
John Clifford Hodges Lee was a career US Army engineer, who rose to the rank of lieutenant general and commanded the Communications Zone (ComZ) in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.
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 ; 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.
The 517th Airlift Squadron is an active unit of the United States Air Force, Pacific Air Forces 3d Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska. It operates Beechcraft C-12 Huron and Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft providing airlift in the Pacific theater.
Communications Zone is a US Army and NATO term which describes a part of the theater of war operations.
The 52d Troop Carrier Wing is a disbanded unit of the United States Air Force. It was last assigned to the New York Air National Guard as the 52d Fighter Wing, being stationed at Westchester County Airport, New York. It was inactivated on 31 October 1950 and the unit designation withdrawn and returned to the Air Force by the National Guard Bureau. It was disbanded on 15 June 1983.
The 34th Special Operations Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 1st Special Operations Group, 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It was activated on 9 April 2010.
The United States Air Force (USAF)'s 33rd Cyberspace Operations Squadron is a network warfare unit located at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
The 442d Operations Group is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is the flying component of the Tenth Air Force 442d Fighter Wing, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
The United States Air Force's 11th Air Support Operations Squadron was a combat support unit located at Fort Hood, Texas. The squadron provided tactical command and control of airpower assets to the Joint Forces Air Component Commander and Joint Forces Land Component Commander for combat operations.
The 44th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit that was assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. It was last known to be stationed at Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, where it engaged in air refueling operations in support of United States Air Forces Central.
American logistics played a key role in the success of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of northwest Europe during World War II. The campaign officially commenced on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and ended on 24 July, the day before the launch of Operation Cobra. The Services of Supply (SOS) was formed under the command of Major General John C. H. Lee in May 1942 to provide logistical support to the European Theater of Operations, United States Army. From February 1944 on, the SOS was increasingly referred to as the Communications Zone (COMZ). Between May 1942 and May 1944, Operation Bolero, the buildup of American troops and supplies in the UK, proceeded fitfully and by June 1944 1,526,965 US troops were in the UK, of whom 459,511 were part of the COMZ.
Royal Bertrand Lord was a United States Army general who served in World War II.
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