United States Army Pacific: Difference between revisions

 

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===Historical summary===

===Historical summary===

Lieutenant General [[Delos Emmons]] was returned by General [[Henry Arnold]] to Hawaii as commanding general of the Hawaiian Department on December 17, ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He encouraged the creation of the [[Hawaii Defense Volunteers]].<ref name=”:0″>{{Cite book |title=Hawai’i chronicles III: World War Two in Hawai’i, from the pages of Paradise of the Pacific |date=2010 |publisher=University of Hawai’i Press |isbn=978-0-8248-6276-3 |editor-last=Dye |editor-first=Bob |location=Honolulu}}</ref> He organized the replacement of the island’s U.S. banknotes with new dollars [[overprint]]ed with the word ”HAWAII”; if the area were occupied, U.S. authorities could declare all marked dollars void and thereby render worthless all money which fell into enemy hands (by their capture of banks, businesses, etc.). He also requested [[Army Air Forces]] Headquarters to send additional planes and received them as rapidly as possible. Emmons built up the forces in Hawaii, anticipating the [[Battle of Midway]].

Lieutenant General [[Delos Emmons]] was returned by General [[Henry Arnold]] to Hawaii as commanding general of the Hawaiian Department on December 17, ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He encouraged the creation of the [[Hawaii Defense Volunteers]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hawai’i chronicles III: World War Two in Hawai’i, from the pages of Paradise of the Pacific |date=2010 |publisher=University of Hawai’i Press |isbn=978-0-8248-6276-3 |editor-last=Dye |editor-first=Bob |location=Honolulu}}</ref> He organized the replacement of the island’s U.S. banknotes with new dollars [[overprint]]ed with the word ”HAWAII”; if the area were occupied, U.S. authorities could declare all marked dollars void and thereby render worthless all money which fell into enemy hands (by their capture of banks, businesses, etc.). He also requested [[Army Air Forces]] Headquarters to send additional planes and received them as rapidly as possible. Emmons built up the forces in Hawaii, anticipating the [[Battle of Midway]].

On 26 May 1943 General [[Robert C. Richardson Jr.]] arrived in Hawaii as the new commander of the Hawaiian Department.<ref>{{cite book |title=Strategy and Command: The First Two Years |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Strategy/Strategy-24.html |pages=484-487}}</ref> In July he radically reorganized his command, placing the major air and ground forces in the area under seven major commands, all under his direct control. In recognition of the importance of shipping in an oceanic theater, he abolished the old Service Forces and created instead an Army Port and Service Command. A Hawaiian Artillery Command was also established, and a Department Reserve designated. All the combat divisions in the area, as well as those expected, were placed under separate command and a task force headquarters was formed in anticipation of future needs. Finally Richardson appointed a deputy chief of staff for operations, who became in effect a War Plans officer.

On 26 May 1943 General [[Robert C. Richardson Jr.]] arrived in Hawaii as the new commander of the Hawaiian Department.<ref>{{cite book |title=

Strategy and Command: The First Two Years |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Strategy/Strategy-24.html |pages=484-487}}</ref> In July he radically reorganized his command, placing the major air and ground forces in the area under seven major commands, all under his direct control. In recognition of the importance of shipping in an oceanic theater, he abolished the old Service Forces and created instead an Army Port and Service Command. A Hawaiian Artillery Command was also established, and a Department Reserve designated. All the combat divisions in the area, as well as those expected, were placed under separate command and a task force headquarters was formed in anticipation of future needs. Finally Richardson appointed a deputy chief of staff for operations, who became in effect a War Plans officer.

On 14 August, Richardson assumed the title Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area “by direction of the President.”

On 14 August, Richardson assumed the title Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area “by direction of the President.”

Army service component command of the United States Army

Military unit

The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command which serves as the Army service component for United States Indo-Pacific Command.^[2] It may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. The command has forces in Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, and South Korea. It also performs missions in Southeast Asia, in the countries stretching from the Philippines all the way to Bangladesh and India. United States Forces Korea (USFK) has had operational command and control of US Forces in Korea since January 2012, and USARPAC headquarters oversees the manning, training, and equipping of US Army forces assigned to USFK.^[3]

However, subordinate units of this command sometimes perform humanitarian missions in places such as Haiti, Cuba, and the Middle East.

In 1911, the Hawaiian Department was created as part of the War Department. Headquartered in the Alexander Young Hotel, the Department moved to Fort Shafter in 1921.^[4] The department also started wearing the red octagon insignia bearing the yellow letter “H.” The colors symbolized Hawaiian royalty and the eight sides represented the main islands of Hawaii. In 1943 after the United States entered World War II, the Hawaiian Department became subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas.

Throughout its history the command was designated:

• US Army Forces, Central Pacific Area (1943–44)
• US Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas (1944–69)
• US Army Forces, Middle Pacific (1945–47)
• US Army, Pacific (1947–1974)
• US Army Western Command (1979–1990)
• United States Army Pacific (1990–present)

Lieutenant General Delos Emmons was returned by General Henry Arnold to Hawaii as commanding general of the Hawaiian Department on December 17, ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He encouraged the creation of the Hawaii Defense Volunteers.^[5] He organized the replacement of the island’s U.S. banknotes with new dollars overprinted with the word HAWAII; if the area were occupied, U.S. authorities could declare all marked dollars void and thereby render worthless all money which fell into enemy hands (by their capture of banks, businesses, etc.). He also requested Army Air Forces Headquarters to send additional planes and received them as rapidly as possible. Emmons built up the forces in Hawaii, anticipating the Battle of Midway.

On 26 May 1943 General Robert C. Richardson Jr. arrived in Hawaii as the new commander of the Hawaiian Department.^[6] In July he radically reorganized his command, placing the major air and ground forces in the area under seven major commands, all under his direct control. In recognition of the importance of shipping in an oceanic theater, he abolished the old Service Forces and created instead an Army Port and Service Command. A Hawaiian Artillery Command was also established, and a Department Reserve designated. All the combat divisions in the area, as well as those expected, were placed under separate command and a task force headquarters was formed in anticipation of future needs. Finally Richardson appointed a deputy chief of staff for operations, who became in effect a War Plans officer.

On 14 August, Richardson assumed the title Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area “by direction of the President.”

The geographical extent of General Richardson’s authority under this directive, as distinguished from his command of the Hawaiian Department, corresponded to the area delineated as the Central Pacific in Nimitz’ original directive. It encompassed therefore all the land and sea areas of the Pacific between the equator (but including Canton Island) and the 42d parallel to the north, except for that portion of MacArthur’s Southwest Pacific Area that lay north of the equator and a small strip off the coast of South America. Within this vast region, only a small portion of which was as yet in American hands, Richardson was responsible for the administration and training of all U.S. Army troops, whether ground or air. This responsibility included also supply, but the precise nature of these duties was left undefined pending his recommendations. And like Harmon, General Richardson had no responsibility for operations other than to assist “in the preparation and execution of plans” involving Army forces in the area, “subject to the direction of the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Area.”34

In designating Richardson Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area, the War Department had said nothing about his duties as Hawaiian Department commander. Actually his responsibilities for both were about the same, but the older command, which carried certain additional legal responsibilities, had been established by Congress and could be altered only by that body. Did Richardson still retain those functions unique to the Hawaiian Department or had the new directive superseded the old? This confusion was settled quickly when the War Department on 18 September affirmed the continued existence of the Hawaiian Department under Richardson and stated explicitly what had been left implicit before — that its instructions to Richardson were not intended to affect the status of the Hawaiian Department.

During the Korean War, USARPAC provided combat forces, training, and logistics.

During the Vietnam War, the command provided the same support to United States Army Vietnam. After the war the Army cut its presence in the region as there was no longer a need for such a large number of combat forces in the Pacific. Subsequently, USARPAC was eliminated as a component command and Army forces in Korea and Japan became separate major commands. In Hawaii, USARPAC headquarters was superseded by US Army Support Command Hawaii (USASCH) and a Department of the Army field operating agency, US Army CINCPAC Support Group.

In 1979 the Army established US Army Western Command (WESTCOM) as a major command and the Army component of US Pacific Command. WESTCOM took command of Army forces in Hawaii. In 1989 it added United States Army Alaska and in 1990 United States Army, Japan.^[7] In 1990 WESTCOM was renamed USARPAC. USARPAC has sent forces on multiple humanitarian missions, disaster relief, and defense support of civil authorities.

In October 2000 the headquarters reorganized as a multi-component Army service component command.

Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, the command has played a major role in the homeland defense of the United States. The command has also sent soldiers to the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) and the Iraq War (U.S. phase, 2003-11) to fill operational gaps

The command’s Distinctive Unit Insignia was designed in 1944. It depicts the axis of advance of U.S. forces across the pacific.

• Responsible to Secretary of the Army for execution of 10 USC §7013(b) responsibilities
• Admins and supports army units assigned or attached to United States Indo-Pacific Command
• Reports to the Commander, United States Indo-Pacific Command

• Army Pacific, Fort Shafter (HI)^[8]
  • Eighth Army, Yongsan Garrison (South Korea)
  • I Corps, Joint Base Lewis–McChord (WA)
  • 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Fort Shafter
  • 8th Theater Sustainment Command, Schofield Barracks^[9]
  • 311th Signal Command (Theater) (Pacific)
  • 18th Medical Command, Fort Shafter^[10]
  • 9th Mission Support Command, Fort Shafter, part of US Army Reserve
  • 196th Infantry Brigade, Fort Shafter, part of US Army Reserve
  • 500th Military Intelligence Brigade, Schofield Barracks, part of Army Intelligence and Security Command^[11]
  • 5th Battlefield Coordination Detachment, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam

Former units include the U.S. Army Chemical Activity, Pacific, at Johnston Atoll, which traced some of its history to the 267th Chemical Company and the Project 112 biological warfare defense experiments. This became the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System, which was finally deactivated in 2001.

Government

General information