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Alaska Defense Command

Military unit

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
2 min read
Source updated March 31, 2025
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The Alaska Defense Command (ADC) was a military formation of the United States Army. It was established on 4 February 1941, responsible for coordinating the defense of the Alaska Territory of the United States. The first commanding general of ADC was Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. The Air Force, Alaska Defense Command, was replaced by the Alaskan Air Force which was activated on 15 January 1942.

Until 1 November 1943, Alaska Defense Command was under the jurisdiction of the Western Defense Command, headquartered at the Presidio of San Francisco. ADC was dissolved on 31 October 1943 and replaced by the Alaskan Department, still commanded by now Lieutenant General Buckner but now reporting directly back to the War Department in Washington, D.C.

The Alaskan Department became United States Army Alaska on 15 December 1947.

01Organization

Organization of the command in 1941 (just before Pearl Harbor) was as follows:

Alaska Defense Command Red Variant SSI prior to March 1943
Alaska Defense Command Red Variant SSI prior to March 1943
Alaska Defense Command Green Variant SSI prior to March 1943
Alaska Defense Command Green Variant SSI prior to March 1943
Alaska Defense Command Blue Variant SSI prior to March 1943
Alaska Defense Command Blue Variant SSI prior to March 1943
Graphic of Alaskan Defence Command in 1941.
Graphic of Alaskan Defence Command in 1941.
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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Alaska Defense Command”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Western Defense Command

Western Defense Command 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 responsibility was the training of soldiers prior to their deployment overseas. The first Commanding General of WDC was Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, who continued on in command of the Fourth U.S. Army.

Eastern Defense Command

The Eastern Defense Command was first established as the Northeast Defense Command on 17 March 1941 as one of four U.S. Army continental defense commands to plan and prepare for and execute defense against enemy attack in the months before America's entry into World War II. Its mission was defined as: "a territorial agency with appropriate staff designed to coordinate or prepare to initiate the execution of all plans for the employment of Army Forces and installations against enemy action in that portion of the United States lying within the command boundaries." This organization was charged with coordinating the defense of the Atlantic Coast, replacing the New England Defense Sector, an organization of the U.S. First Army. However, this did not initially occur, and the command was little more than a planning agency until 24 December 1941.

Central Defense Command

Central Defense Command was a command formation of the United States Army during World War II. The CDC was established on 17 March 1941, and was responsible for coordinating the defense of the Midwestern United States. A second major responsibility of the CDC was the training of soldiers prior to their deployment overseas.