Military Agency Records RG 218

Interallied and Interservice Military Agencies Records

Records of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (RG 218)

The United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, known also as JCS, was created as a result of the decision made during the Anglo-American military staff conference in Washington, December 1941- January 1942, to establish the Combined Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Chiefs of Staff became the United States representatives on the Combined Chiefs of Staff. In addition to the foregoing role, the JCS became the principal United States agency for coordination between the Army and the Navy.

The first meeting of the JCS as an organized body was held on February 9, 1942. Its original members were the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral H.R. Stark; the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General George C. Marshall; the Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet, Admiral Ernest J. King; and the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, Lt. General Henry H. Arnold. In March 1942, the duties of the Chief of Naval Operations and of the Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet were combined in one person, Admiral King, thus reducing the membership of the JCS to three; but in July a fourth member was again provided, namely Admiral William D. Leahy, the newly appointed Chief of Staff to the President in respect to the latter's role as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy. (Note 1)

Researchers may find useful Henry Stimson, On Active Service in Peace and War (New York: Harper, 1948); William D. Leahy, I Was There: The Personal Story of the Chief of Staff to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman Based on His Notes and Diaries Made at the Time (New York: Whittlesley House, 1950); Ernest J. King, Fleet Admiral King: A Naval Record (New York: W. W. Norton, 1952); Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Organizer of Victory (New York: Viking Press, 1973).

The functions and duties of the JCS were not formally defined during the war period. The absence of any written definition of duties allowed great flexibility or organization and the extension of activities in accordance with the requirements of the war.

During the war period the Joint Chiefs of Staff existed informally on the basis of its continuing functions. It was given legislative recognition as a permanent agency, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, by the National Security Act of 1947.

Central Decimal Files 1942-1945 (Entry 1)
Boxes 1-529

Central Decimal File 1946-1947(Entry 3)
Boxes 1-117

Geographic File 1942-1945 (Entry2)
Boxes 1-222
Box 189

Records of the Combined Civil Affairs Committee

The Combined Civil Affairs Committee (CCAC) was established by the Combined Chiefs of Staff in July 1943, to recommend civil-affairs policies for enemy or enemy-held areas that were occupied by combined operations and to coordinate military and civilian agency interests in such matters. The United States membership consisted of one representative each of the Army, the Navy, and the State Department, with an additional civilian official who served as Chairman of the Committee. The British membership consisted of one representative of the Foreign Office (6), two from the British Joint Staff Mission, and one additional civilian expert.

CCAC Index 1944-1949 (Entry 87)
Boxes 1-34

CCAC Decimal File 1942-1945 (Entry 88)
Boxes 1-106

CCAC Decimal File, Geographic Series 1942-1945 (Entry 89)
Boxes 107-155

CCAC Decimal File Cross-Reference Sheets 1942-1945 (Entry 90)
Boxes 1-21
Boxes 19-20 contain foreign country entries