Ordnance Corps (United States Army)
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- For the corps in the Israel Defense Forces, see Ordnance Corps (Israel).
The Ordnance Corps is a combat service support branch of the United States Army.
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[edit] Mission
The mission of the Corps (as stated on their website) is:
“The purpose of the Ordnance Corps is to support the development, production, acquisition and sustainment of weapons systems and munitions, and to provide explosive ordnance disposal, during peace and war, to provide superior combat power to current and future forces of the United States Army.”
[edit] History
The Ordnance Corps was created in 1775 by a committee of the Continental Congress (which included future President of the United States George Washington) to study the procurement and storage of ammunition and methods of arms. The committee appointed Ezekiel Cheever as Commissary General of the Artillery Stores and technically the first Chief of Ordnance.
In 1776, Continental Congress created a Board of War and Ordnance, which was responsible for the issuing of supplies to soldiers. In 1777, an Ordnance powder magazine (the first) was established in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which was followed soon after by an arsenal and armory operations at Springfield, Massachusetts, which would go on to become the famous Springfield Armory. Other armories would later be established in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and Watertown, Massachusetts.
The Board of War and Ordnance was reorganized as a department by Congress in 1812 as part of preparations for the War of 1812. In this capacity, the Ordnance Department was responsible for the arms and ammunition production, acquisition, distribution, and storage in a larger geographical base than in its prior existence during the American Revolution. 1832 saw the department acquiring new responsibilities to research & development and a system of field service. The department was further developed during the Mexican-American War.
The American Civil War proved to be a great challenge to the Ordnance Department, as its installations on both sides of the war were prime targets for attacks. Nevertheless, it succeeded in providing massive amounts of weapons and supplies procurement and field support for fast moving armies during the war. The Spanish-American War was noted as the first conflict in which the department deployed materials overseas and provided close combat support.
World War I proved to be a major turning point for the Corps as it mobilized the massive industrial base of the United States, as well as jointly developing weapons with its European allies and established supply depots overseas and Ordnance training facilities. World War II expanded the Corps even more, as it expanded its production, acquisition, distribution, and training mission.
The Corps has also been involved in the development of rockets, guided missiles and satellites.
[edit] Chiefs of Ordnance
- Ezekiel Cheever 1776 1
- Colonel Decius Wadsworth, 1815-1821 2
- Colonel George Bomford, 1832-1848
- Colonel George Talcott, 1848-1851
- Colonel Henry K. Craig, 1851-1861
- Brigadier General James W. Ripley, 1861-1863
- Brigadier General George D. Ramsay, 1863-1864
- Brigadier General Alexander B. Dyer, 1864-1874
- Brigadier General Stephen V. Benet, 1874-1891
- Brigadier General Daniel W. Flagler, 1891-1899
- Brigadier General Adelbert R. Buffington, 1899-1901
- Major General William Crozier, 1901-1918
- Major General Clarence C. Williams, 1918-1930
- Major General Samuel Hof, 1930-1934
- Major General William H. Tschappat, 1934-1938
- Major General Charles M. Wesson, 1938-1942
- Lieutenant General Levin H. Campbell, Jr., 1942-1946
- Major General Everett S. Hughes, 1946-1949
- Major General Elbert L. Ford, 1949-1953
- Lieutenant General Emerson L. Cummings, 1953-1958
- Lieutenant General John H. Hinrichs, 1958-1962
- Major General Horace F. Bigelow, 1962 3
- Major General William E. Potts, 1983-1986
- Major General Leon E. Salomon, 1986-1988
- Major General James W. Ball, 1988-1990
- Major General Johnnie E. Wilson, 1990-1992
- Major General John G. Coburn, 1992-1994
- Major General James W. Monroe, 1994-1995
- Major General Robert D. Shadley, 1995-1997
- Brigadier General Thomas R. Dickinson, 1997-1998
- Major General Dennis K. Jackson, 1998-2000
- Major General Mitchell Stevenson, 2000-2003
- Brigadier General William M. Lenaers, 2003-2004
- Major General Vincent E. Boles, 2004-2006
- Brigadier General Rebecca S. Halstead, 2006-Present
[edit] Notes
Note 1: , Was not officially a Chief of Ordnance as the department did not yet exist.
Note 2: , The Ordnance Department and Artillery Department were merged from 1821 to 1832 in the interest of economy. The Ordnance Department would be re-established in 1832.
Note 3: , The Office of the Chief of Ordnance was abolished and all ordnance-related administrative functions were performed by other Army agencies in 1962. The position was re-established in 1983, as a proponent agency for all ordnance-related occupational specialties and career management fields. The Ordnance Corps would join the regimental system of the U.S. Army in 1986, with the Office of the Chief of Ordnance being re-established as the head of the Corps.
[edit] References
- A brief history of the Ordnance Corps
- Serving the Line with Excellence: The Development of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps as expressed through the Lives of its Chiefs of Ordnance, 1812-1992; With a Short Sketch of the History of U.S. Army Ordnance, 1775-1992, (rev.ed., 1992)
- Addere Flammam: Commanders of the United States Army Ordnance Center and School, 1918-1993, (1993)
