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32-774: A shortage of vessels further complicated by requirements to take vessels out of service for conversion and armament was of concern at the highest levels, including the President. Particular concern that available shipping would not be used effectively led to his establishment immediately on the nation's active entry into the war of the Strategic Shipping Board composed of the Chairman of the Maritime Commission, Army Chief of Staff , Chief of Naval Operations and Mr. Harry Hopkins reporting directly to

64-522: A basic allowance for housing from $ 50.70 to $ 1,923.30. In the 19th century the American land military used the title of "General-in-Chief" beginning with Gen. James Wilkinson (1757-1825), and later for several decades of commanding Gen. Winfield Scott (1786-1866). Later Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), given the title after being recalled to come east from the Western Theater of

96-521: A different office and not as the senior officer in the army. Halleck was centered in the old brick War Department building adjacent west of the White House , along with the War Secretary, whereas Gen. Grant was out in the field. The first chief of staff moved his headquarters to Fort Myer in northern Virginia, near the national capital of Washington, D.C. . in 1908. The rank listed is

128-536: A four-star general . The chief has an official residence, Quarters 1 at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall , Virginia. The senior leadership of the Department of the Army consists of two civilians—the secretary of the Army (head of the department and subordinate to the secretary of defense) and the under secretary of the Army —and two military officers—the chief of staff of the Army and the vice chief of staff of

160-491: A million wounded. This was not, however, a one-way stream. Former Axis POWs from Europe and Japan had to be repatriated, and occupation forces had to be dropped in Germany, China, Korea and Japan. 450,000 German prisoners of war, in addition to 53,000 Italian ex-POWs were returned to Europe. Between May and September 1945, 1,417,850 were repatriated. Between October 1945 to April 1946, another 3,323,395 were repatriated. By

192-678: A much diminished role under the Joint Chiefs of Staff . On February 7, 1942, the WSA was established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's Executive Order No. 9054. February 7, 1942 as the U.S. had entered the war. The WSA was administratively split off from the United States Maritime Commission , established in 1936, which oversaw design and construction of merchant type vessels. Those included

224-639: A separate capacity, the CSA is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( 10 U.S.C.   § 151 ) and, thereby, a military advisor to the National Security Council , the secretary of defense , and the president of the United States . The CSA is typically the highest-ranking officer on active duty in the U.S. Army unless the chairman or the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are Army officers. The chief of staff of

256-565: A squadron of destroyers filled with homeward-bound servicemen. Stopping at Okinawa , they embarked thousands more Tenth United States Army troops. The Navy hastily converted many of its warships into temporary transports, including aircraft carriers, where three-to five-tiered bunks were installed on the hangar decks to provide accommodation for several thousand men in relative comfort. The Navy fleet of 369 ships included 222 assault transports , 6 battleships, 18 cruisers, 57 aircraft carriers and 12 hospital ships. By October 1945, Magic Carpet

288-681: The European Theater of Operations (ETO) during the wartime build-up, the post VE-Day rush homeward would average 430,000 GIs per month for the next 14 months. In mid-October 1945 the United States Navy donated the newly commissioned carrier USS  Lake Champlain —fitted with bunks for 3,300 troops—to the operation. She was joined in November by the battleship USS  Washington . The European lift now included more than 400 vessels. Some would carry as few as 300 while

320-561: The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 , the United States Maritime Commission was established as an independent agency to direct and control all phases of overseas shipping and shipbuilding. It became apparent immediately when this Nation entered the war that a special agency to deal with the operational problems peculiar to war was necessary to supplement the Maritime Commission. That need brought about

352-467: The United States Army had recognized that, once the war was over, bringing the troops home would be a priority. More than 16 million Americans were in uniform, and more than eight million of them were scattered across all theaters of war, worldwide. Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall established committees to address the logistical problem. Eventually organization of the operation

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384-462: The "loading, discharging and general control of the movement of these ships" WSA developed and enforced improved methods of utilizing ship capacity and avoiding inefficient use of ships by commerce and the military services. After the war, WSA vessels were used to carry home the huge number of armed personnel overseas, as part of Operation Magic Carpet . Over 3,500,000 men were brought home from overseas areas by December 1, 1945. On September 1, 1946,

416-683: The Army . The chief reports directly to the secretary of the Army for army matters and assists in the Secretary's external affairs functions, including presenting and enforcing army policies, plans, and projections. The chief also directs the inspector general of the Army to perform inspections and investigations as required. In addition, the chief presides over the Army Staff and represents Army capabilities, requirements, policy, plans, and programs in Joint forums. Under delegation of authority made by

448-556: The Army is an administrative position based in the Pentagon . While the CSA does not have operational command authority over Army forces proper (which is within the purview of the Combatant Commanders who report to the Secretary of Defense), the CSA does exercise supervision of army units and organizations as the designee of the Secretary of the Army. The current Chief of Staff of the Army is General Randy George , who

480-632: The Civil War in 1864. By 1903, the senior military officer in the army was the Commanding General of the United States Army , who reported to the U.S. Secretary of War . From 1864 to 1865, Major General Henry Halleck (1815-1872), who had previously been Commanding General earlier in the war, served as "Chief of Staff of the Army" under the newly appointed Commanding General, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant , thus serving in

512-500: The President. Differences between the organizations and lack of decisive authority short of the President limited the board's effectiveness. An additional need was an effective routine interaction with the British Ministry of War Transport , already given management of British merchant shipping, for coordination of all Allied merchant shipping. Upon establishment of the WSA the Strategic Shipping Board continued in existence in

544-631: The United States in June 1945. Beginning in October 1945, over 370 United States Navy ships were used for repatriation duties in the Pacific. Warships, such as aircraft carriers, battleships, hospital ships, and large numbers of assault transports were used. The European phase of Operation Magic Carpet concluded in February 1946 while the Pacific phase continued until September 1946. As early as mid-1943,

576-544: The WSA functions were returned to the Maritime Commission. Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army ( CSA ) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army , the chief is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the secretary of the Army . In

608-602: The creation of the War Shipping Administration on February 7, 1942, which took over from the Maritime Commission virtually all of the Commission's major statutory functions with the exception of shipbuilding. Thus WSA became the Government's ship operating agency and the Maritime Commission its shipbuilding agency. The WSA authority was extensive. In the same report to the President, Land describes

640-569: The end of February, the ETO phase of Magic Carpet was essentially completed. With the surrender of Japan , the Navy also began bringing home sailors and Marines . Vice Admiral Forrest Sherman 's Task Force 11 departed Tokyo Bay early in September 1945 with the battleships USS  New Mexico , USS  Idaho , USS  Mississippi , and USS  North Carolina , and two carriers plus

672-512: The large ocean liners often squeezed 15,000 aboard. The U.S. obtained the use of one of the ocean liners, the British RMS ; Queen Mary , in exchange for 10 smaller U.S. vessels. The WSA and the army also converted 29 troopships into special carriers for tens of thousands of war brides, European women who had married American servicemen. The Magic Carpet fleet also included 48 hospital ships; these transported more than half

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704-567: The more notable WSA operated ships were large and fast troop transports able to sail largely without escort with WSA operated Argentina , Brazil , John Ericsson , Lurline , Mariposa , Monterey , and Uruguay being among those ships. In addition, the WSA worked closely with the British Ministry of War Transport through the Combined Shipping Adjustment Board in ensuring most efficient use of available ship hulls and cargo carrying capacity. Under

736-434: The movement of these ships; administering and marine and war risk insurance laws and funds, and the control of terminal and port facilities, forwarding and related matters. Under that authority cargo hulls were allocated to either commerce, Army or Navy. Many of the Army's ships and Naval transports were allocated by WSA. WSA, through its agents, directly operated ships in support of the services and civilian requirements. Among

768-446: The other service counterparts, the chief has no operational command authority over army forces, dating back to the passage of the Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958. The chief is served by a number of Deputy Chiefs of Staff of the Army, such as G-1, Personnel . The chief's base pay is $ 21,147.30 per month and also received a Personal Money Allowance (Monthly Amount) of $ 333.33, a basic allowance for subsistence of $ 253.38, and

800-437: The production of Liberty ships and Victory ships among other types. The U.S. fleet expanded to some 3,500 dry cargo vessels and over 900 high speed tankers. On a practical level The Maritime Commission and the WSA worked closely together under the administration of Vice Admiral Emory S. Land at the head of each. Land described this relationship in his report to The President of WSA's progress through December 31, 1943: Under

832-469: The rank when serving in the office. Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post- World War II operation by the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA) to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European (ETO), Pacific , and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships , Victory ships , and troop transports began repatriating soldiers from Europe to

864-621: The responsibility: The responsibility of the WSA under the Executive Order of February 7, 1942, extended to all phases of shipping including the purchase or requisition of vessels for its own use or the use of the Army, Navy, or other Government agencies; the repairing, arming, and degaussing of WSA controlled vessels and Allied vessels under lend-lease provision; conversion of vessels to troop transports, hospital ships, and for other special purposes; training and providing ship personnel, operating, loading, discharging and general control of

896-403: The secretary of the Army, the chief designates army personnel and army resources to the commanders of the unified combatant commands. The chief performs all other functions enumerated in 10 U.S.C.   § 3033 under the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of the Army, or delegates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in his administration in his name. Like

928-520: The transportation necessary to take the veterans to demobilization camps after they reached America's shores. There were 3,059,000 service men and women in Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean on VE-Day . The first homeward-bound ships left Europe in late June 1945, and by November, the sealift was at its height. Whereas American shipping had delivered an average of 148,000 soldiers per month to

960-658: Was given to the War Shipping Administration (WSA). Eligibility for repatriation was determined by the Adjusted Service Rating Score . The Navy was excluded from the initial European sealift, as the Pacific War was far from over, and the task of returning the troops was the sole responsibility of the Army and Merchant Marine . The WSA ordered the immediate conversion of 300 Liberty and Victory cargo ships into transports. Adequate port and docking facilities were also serious considerations along with

992-608: Was operating worldwide with the Army, Navy, and WSA pooling their resources to expedite the troop-lift. December 1945 saw the highest number of troops returning from the Pacific at nearly 700,000. 29 troop transports carrying more than 200,000 soldiers, sailors, and Marines from the China-Burma-India theater arrived home in April 1946. The last of the troops to return from the Pacific war zone (127,300) arrived home in September 1946. The Army's Air Transport Command (ATC) and

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1024-451: Was sworn in on 21 September 2023, having previously served as acting CSA from 4 August. The chief of staff of the Army is nominated for appointment by the president, for a four-year term of office, and must be confirmed by the Senate . The chief can be reappointed to serve one additional term, but only during times of war or national emergency declared by Congress. By statute, the chief is

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