The Alaska Defense Command (ADC) was a

military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a natio ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. It was established on 4 February 1941, responsible for coordinating the defense of the

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; th ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The first commanding general of ADC was

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. The Air Force, Alaska Defense Command, was replaced by the

Alaskan Air Force The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquarte ...

which was activated on 15 January 1942. Until 1 November 1943, Alaska Defense Command was under the jurisdiction of the

Western Defense Command Western Defense Command (WDC) was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the United States Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Pacific Coast region of the United States during World War II. A second major respo ...

, headquartered at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

. ADC was dissolved on 31 October 1943 and replaced by the Alaskan Department, still commanded by now

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Buckner but now reporting directly back to the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * De ...

in Washington, D.C. The Alaskan Department became

United States Army Alaska United States Army Alaska (USARAK or "America's Arctic Warriors") was a military command of the United States Army located in the U.S. state of Alaska. A subordinate command of I Corps, USARAK was the ground element of the Alaskan Command. USAR ...

on 15 December 1947.

Organization

Organization of the command in 1941 (just before

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

) was as follows: * Alaska Defense Command, Fort Richardson ** United States Army Finance Office,

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

** Alaskan Defense Command Signals Detachment, Chilkoot Barracks ** B Company,

194th Tank Battalion The 149th Armored Regiment was an armored regiment that was part of the California Army National Guard. Its lineage dates back to a cavalry unit organized in 1895 in Salinas. As Troop C, the unit's first major action occurred when it deployed ...

** 4th Infantry Regiment (1 company at

Ladd Field Ladd or Ladds may refer to: People *Ladd (surname) *Brent Ladds (born 1951), Canadian ice hockey administrator Places ;In the United States *Ladds, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Ladd, Illinois, village *Ladd, Missouri, an unincorporated ...

) ** 37th Infantry Regiment,

Fort Greely Fort Greely is a United States Army launch site for anti-ballistic missiles located about southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. It is also the home of the Cold Regions Test Center (CRTC), as Fort Greely is one of the coldest areas in Alaska, and c ...

(1 Battalion at

Fort Mears The Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears were the two military installations built next to each other in Dutch Harbor, on Amaknak Island of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, by the United States in response to the growing war threat ...

and 1 Company at Fort Raymond **

153rd Infantry Regiment The 153d Infantry Regiment (First Arkansas) is a United States infantry regiment, currently represented in the Arkansas Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry, headquartered at Malvern, Arkansas, and 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infan ...

, Fort Raymond (1 Company at

Annette Island Airport Annette Island Airport is located on Annette Island in the Prince of Wales – Hyder Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is privately owned by the Metlakatla Indian Community. It is located south of Metlakatla, Alaska. The ...

, 1 Company in Nome, 1 Company at Yakutat Air Base ** 201st Infantry Regiment,

(1 Battalion at Fort Ray) ** 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, (A and B Companies at Chilkoot Barracks) ** 81st Medium Field Artillery Regiment ** 98th Field Artillery Regiment,

** 250th Coast Artillery (Mobile),

(two companies at Fort Raymond and one battalion at Fort Richardson) ** United States Army Junior

Mine Planter Mine planter and the earlier "torpedo planter" was a term used for mine warfare ships into the early days of World War I. In later terminology, particularly in the United States, a mine planter was a ship specifically designed to install controll ...

, Chilkoot Barracks ** 75th Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft) ** 215th Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft),

** 1st Battalion, 205th Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft) ** 1st Battalion,

206th Coast Artillery Regiment The 206th Field Artillery Regiment is a United States artillery regiment, currently represented in the Arkansas Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery, Headquartered at Russellville, Arkansas. The 1–206th FA is an elem ...

(Antiaircraft) ** 1st Battalion, 151st Engineer Regiment (Combat),

(1 Batteries at

, 2 Companies at Fort Raymond, 1 Platoon at

) ** 32nd Engineer Company ** Company from the 23rd Quartermasters Regiment (Truck) ** Alaskan Defense Command Quartermaster Depot, Chilkoot Barracks ** 4th Ordnance Company (Medium Maintenance) ** A Company, 69th Quartermaster Battalion (Light Maintenance),

(Detachment at Fort Richardson) ** x7 Station Complements at each fort * Air Force, Alaska Defense Command,

Elmendorf Field Elmendorf may refer to: People with the surname * Dave Elmendorf, former NFL player * Douglas Elmendorf, 2009-2015 director of the Congressional Budget Office * Lucas Conrad Elmendorf, a United States Representative from New York * Steven Elmendorf ...

under lieutenant colonel E S Davis ** Alaskan Air Warning Signals Company, Fort Richardson ** 408th Aviation Signal Company ** 430th Aviation Maintenance Signal Company ** 14th Aviation Service Signal Company (Split between each base) ** 802nd Aviation Engineer Battalion, Annette Island Landing Field ** 807th Aviation Engineer Company, Yakutat Air Base ** 10th Aviation Service Maintenance Company (Split between each base) **

28th Composite Group 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

*** Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron,

under Major N D Sillin *** 18th Fighter Squadron *** 73rd Medium Bomber Squadron *** 36th Heavy Bomber Squadron *** Tow Target Flight *** 699th Aviation Composite Ordnance Maintenance Company (Elements at

) *** Air Corps Cold Weather Detachment,

**** Air Corps Cold Weather Headquarters Flight **** Air Corps Heavy Bombardment Flight **** Air Corps Medium Bombardment Flight **** Air Corps Pursuit Flight

Organization

See also

References

Further reading