Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-12-27
Continuation Is Seen
For Service Forces in
Lufes Appointment
BY the Associated Press.


The question of whether the
war-created Army Service Forces
would be continued appeared
settled today with the appoint
ment of 1t. Gen. LIE Roy Lutes as
the new ASST commander.
Secretary of War Patterson desig-
mated Gen. Lutes to succeed Cen
Brehon Somervell, who is retiring
effective January /.
The Navy Department, meanwhile,
announced appointment of Rear
Admiral Forrest P. Sherman as
deputy chief of naval operations for
operations, an assignment in which
he will continue his close wartime
association with Admiral Chester w.
Nimitz, now Chief of Naval Opera
lions.
Continuance Questioned.
Members of congressional appro-
priation committees in recent
months had raised the question of
whether ASF should continue. Gen.
Somervell, one of several War De-
partment witnesses, said he believed
some centralized form of supply
service should be maintained.
ASF was one of the three major
organizations which emerged from
the War Departments 1912 stream
lining. In that reorganization, all
Army activities were grouped under
three main divisions, ground, air
and service forces.
The ASST took over the housekeep-
ing and supply tasks previously scat
tered through various branches of
the Army, including the gigantic
logistical task of getting munitions
to American forces fighting in Asia
and Europe.
Once in National Guard.
A War Department committee cur
rently is studying postwar organiza-
ton of the Army. The announce
ment of Gen. Lutes' appointment
was interpreted in some quarters to
mean that the committee had decid-
ed upon retention of ASST in the
peacetime setup, at least pending a
decision on unification.
Gen. Lutes, Regular Army officer
who came into the service in 1917
with the National Guard, has been
with the ASST since its organization.
He served first as director of plans
and operations and since last April
as deputy commander of ASST. He
is native of Cairo, Ill.
Gen. Somervell, like Gen. Lutes
a veteran of Army service, is retir-
ing under a regulation which per-
mits any general officer who served
In the World War to leave the serv-
Ice at his own request.
Gen. Lutes saw service in six COM
bat zones in the World War. In 1912
he initiated plans to assure ade-
euate supply support for American
forces in Britain. That year he also
covered thousands of miles in the
South and Southwest Pacific CO.
ordinating supply.
Served With Eisenhower.
Later, Gen. Lutes assisted in prep
aration for logistical support of air
transport activities through Brazil
and to supply troops en- route to and
from Africa. In August, 1943, he was
back in the Pacific.
Prior TO the invasion of France,
Cen Lutes was called to Gen. Eisen-I
hower's headquarters to advise and
was instrumental in expediting ae-
ton that delivered critical items to
meet that invasion deadline.
Admiral Sherman, who served as
Deputy Chief of Staff under Admiral
Nirnitz in the Pacific, succeeds Rear-
Admiral Richard L. Connolly, who
will become Deputy Ono for admin
tstration. ~. g..
The latter post has been held by
Rear Admiral Bernhard H. Bieri,
whose new assignment has not been
announced.
Admiral Sherman has been serv-
ing recently as commander of Car
rier Division I, which includes the
two 45,000-ton supercarriers Frank
lin D. Roosevelt and Midway.