Editing Corps area (section)

== Abolition of the Service Commands ==
On 30 August 1945, Army Chief of Staff General [[George Marshall]] created a board headed by Lieutenant General [[Alexander M. Patch]] to review the organization of the War Department. The board had no officers from the ASF staff but two came from the technical services. The board submitted its recommendations to the Chief of Staff on 18 October. These were that the technical services be continued, with the Transportation Corps made permanent, and that the Finance Department becoming an eighth technical service. The service commands would be abolished, and their functions transferred to the Armies. The ASF would also be abolished, and its staff sections transferred to the War Department General Staff.{{sfn|Millett|1954|pp=421-425}}

In accordance with these recommendations, on 11 June 1946, Army Service Forces and the five of the nine service commands areas were abolished. The service commands were replaced by six field army level organizations. These six Army Areas, though similar in name, operated on a functional rather than geographic basis but roughly followed along the old corps areas boundaries.

*'''[[First United States Army|First Army]] Area''', headquartered at [[Fort Jay]] in New York, New York included ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NJ, NY and DE. From Headquarters [[Second Service Command]].
*'''[[Second United States Army|Second Army]] Area''', headquartered at Baltimore, Maryland included PA, MD, VA, WV, OH, IN and KY. From Headquarters [[Third Service Command]].
*'''[[Third United States Army|Third Army]] Area''', headquartered variously in rented office space in downtown Atlanta and in 1946 at [[Fort McPherson]] in Atlanta, Georgia included NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, TN and MS. From Headquarters [[Fourth Service Command]] to the temporary Seventh Army, to be succeeded by Third Army when Third Army returned from Germany. Seventh Army was inactivated in Atlanta on 15 March 1947.<ref>[https://history.army.mil/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=bBTqBeJO8AM%3d&portalid=143 Lineage and Honors, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, United States Army Europe and Africa]</ref>
*'''[[Fourth United States Army|Fourth Army]] Area''', headquartered at [[Fort Sam Houston]] in San Antonio, Texas included TX, AR, LA, OK, and NM. From Headquarters [[Eighth Service Command]].
*'''[[United States Army North|Fifth Army]] Area''', headquartered at [[Sheridan Reserve Center|Fort Sheridan]] near Chicago, Illinois included IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, MO, KS, NE, ND, SD, WY and CO. From Headquarters [[Sixth Service Command]].
*'''[[Sixth United States Army|Sixth Army]] Area''', headquartered at [[Presidio of San Francisco]], California included WA, OR, ID, MT, UT, NV and CA.<ref name=nyt>{{Citation
  | last = Shalett
  | first = Sidney
  | title = Army is Revamped in Economy Drive
  | newspaper=The New York Times| date = 14 May 1946
  | url = http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F10D17FA3D5C107A93C6A8178ED85F428485F9}}
</ref>

However, several of the service commands were retained as area commands:
*e. "Headquarters, [[First Service Command]] will remain at Boston, Massachusetts, as an area command under the Commanding General, First Army, with functions and duties as prescribed by him.
*f. Headquarters, [[Fifth Service Command]], will remain at Columbus, Ohio, as an area command under the Commanding General, Second Army, with functions and duties as prescribed by him.
*g. Headquarters, [[Seventh Service Command]], will remain at Omaha, Nebraska, as an area command under the Commanding General, Fifth Army, with functions and duties as prescribed by him.
*h. Headquarters, [[Ninth Service Command]], will remain at Salt Lake City, Utah, as an area command under the Commanding General, Sixth Army, with functions and duties as prescribed by him."<ref>War Department Circular 138, p.29</ref>

This organizational scheme served until the Army reorganization of 1973, with the creation of Forces Command and [[Training and Doctrine Command]].