Editing National Security Act of 1947 (section)

=== The Richardson Committee ===
While the Woodrum Committee met, the JCS continued to study the problem by convening their own committee of two Army officers and two Navy officers. It was led by former Pacific Fleet commander Admiral [[James O. Richardson]]. The Richardson committee interviewed eighty commanders both at war and in Washington, almost all of flag rank, to get their thoughts on postwar reorganization.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

On April 18, 1945, the Richardson Committee presented their findings and recommendations.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" /> They found that most Army officers and about half the Navy officers favored unification to a single service, but disagreed on the details. The committee's recommendations went even farther than McNarney's, calling not only for one civilian secretary overseeing the military and none overseeing the individual services, but also calling for a single uniformed "Commander of all Forces."<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />