The Cold War was fraught with wonder, ingenuity, and a certain sense of mysterious danger as the two superpowers entered a stalemate of weapon development competition and stockpiling. Advancement in nuclear power, propulsion systems, and so much more led its development to the Cold War. It was within this periodContinue Reading
In 1996, the Army War Reserve Support Command (AWRSPTCMD) was created under the Industrial Operations Command (IOC). The primary mission of the AWRSPTCMD was to unify the field support and reserve components controlled by IOC under a single command structure. This gave control of the Combat Equipment Groups (CEGs) toContinue Reading
The modern incarnation of Army War Reserves (AWR) traces its history to the former Army War Reserve Support Command (AWRSPTCMD). More than just a jumbling of letters in an acronym, the AWRSPTCMD is the forerunner to one of the current core missions of the modern Army Sustainment Command (ASC). AWRSPTCMDContinue Reading
In the days leading up to February of 1991, the U.S. military was posturing itself with Allies in the Persian Gulf to sustain and support a peacekeeping operation and the liberation of Kuwait. By 8 AUG 1990, U.S. forces were already in the region ready to offload materiel into portsContinue Reading
The 41st Composite Squadron (Davenport Composite Squadron) is mentioned before the official start date by around a few months. On 26 OCT 1941 in the Quad City Times, there was mention of pilots signing up for the Civil Air Patrol. The quotation states, “fifty-four Davenport men will be asked shortlyContinue Reading
We have all heard the saying before: “No plan ever survives the first contact.” Sometimes that plan goes so awry that it no longer maintains its operational integrity. Unfortunately—or fortunately—for the German forces invading France in 1914, their operational plans worked only in theory. Much like the American Rainbow PlansContinue Reading
Following the defeat of the Axis Powers in World War II, the Allies established their own occupational jurisdictions within Germany. There were six jurisdictions for the old German territory, but four made up the core of Germany. The United Kingdom occupied the northwest quarter, the French a sliver of theContinue Reading
As of May 1942, the wing had approximately 1,200 personnel. At that time there were over 200 officers, and 1,000 enlisted, with women composing 25 percent of this force. 80 percent of this force were classified as aviators, and the wing claimed to have as many as 600 aircraft availableContinue Reading
Following years of preparation and planning, the Allies took to the beaches of Northern France on the morning of 6 JUN 1944. The mission objective was straightforward but difficult: establish a foothold on the European mainland, opening a third front against the Axis Powers. Little did the Allies who tookContinue Reading
Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 DEC 1941, the War Department was already undergoing a major transformation. Rapid training of personnel with little in the way of materiel resulted in stumbles and falls on the home front. In the weeks that led up to the attack,Continue Reading
