The United States Replacement and School Command was a training and receiving formation of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

It was established as part of the

Army Ground Forces The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the la ...

in March 1942, after it was noted that

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

, though initially well-balanced, soon became unbalanced in combat as the infantry took casualties faster than other arms. When it started, the Replacement and School Command consisted of about 166,000 officers and men, and it reached its peak in May 1945 with 481,000 personnel. The Command operated Replacement Training Centers (RTCs), especially Infantry Replacement Training Centers (IRTCs), in an effort to train new recruits to replace combat casualties. IRTCs included

Fort McClellan Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, is a United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops. After t ...

in Alabama, Camp Roberts in California,

Camp Blanding Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard, both the Florida Army National Guard and certain nonflying activities of the Florida Air National Guard. The installation ...

in Florida,

Camp Wheeler Camp Wheeler was a United States Army base near Macon, Georgia. The camp was a staging location for many US Army units during World War I and World War II. It was named for Joseph Wheeler, a general in the Confederate States of America's Army and ...

in Georgia, and Camp Fannin, Camp Howze, and

Fort Wolters Fort Wolters was a United States military installation four miles northeast of Mineral Wells, Texas. The fort was originally named Camp Wolters in honor of Brigadier General Jacob F. Wolters, commander of the 56th Cavalry Brigade of the Nationa ...

in Texas. The Field Artillery Replacement Center was located at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

, Oklahoma, and was commanded by Ralph McT. Pennell. The first

commanding general The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the Replacement and School Command was

Courtney Hodges General Courtney Hicks Hodges (5 January 1887 – 16 January 1966) was a decorated senior officer in the United States Army who commanded First U.S. Army in the Western European Campaign of World War II. Hodges was a notable "mustang" officer, ...

. Other commanding generals included Harold R. Bull and

Harry Hazlett Harry Fouts Hazlett (April 17, 1884 – September 27, 1960) was a career officer in the U.S. Army. Prior to that he was an American football coach for the Canton Professionals-Bulldogs of the "Ohio League", which was the direct predecessor to ...

. Initially, training programs ran for 4 weeks, culminating at 17 weeks by the war's end.

Tony Cucolo Anthony Arthur "Tony" Cucolo (born August 22, 1957) is a retired United States Army Major General. He was notable for his service as the Army's Chief of Public Affairs, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart/ Hunter Army Airfi ...

notes that the men who trained at IRTCs replaced the dead: "The men trained here knew they were going to the deadliest places on the WWII battlefield."

Shoulder sleeve insignia

The Replacement and School Command

Shoulder Sleeve Insignia Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) are distinctive cloth patches worn on the left sleeve of the United States Army uniform just below the shoulder seam by soldiers assigned to divisions, corps, armies, and other specifically authorized orga ...

consisted of three vertical stripes of equal width of blue (on the left), yellow and scarlet (visually very similar to the flags of

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

and of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

). The

United States Army Institute of Heraldry The Institute of Heraldry, officially The Institute of Heraldry, Department of the Army, is an activity of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army solely responsible for furnishing heraldic services to the President of the Un ...

notes that "the three stripes are in the colors of, and refer to, the basic

combat arms Combat arms (or fighting arms in non-American parlance) are troops within national armed forces who participate in direct tactical ground combat. In general, they are units that carry or employ weapons, such as infantry, cavalry, and artillery ...

(infantry, cavalry/armor and artillery); they also refer to the components of the "One Army" concept: Active Army,

Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

and

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

." The shoulder sleeve insignia is currently worn by the

United States Army Training and Doctrine Command The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine ...

In popular culture

Frederick Buechner Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies ...

's 1958 novel ''

The Return of Ansel Gibbs ''The Return of Ansel Gibbs'' is the Frederick Buechner bibliography, third novel by the American author and theologian Frederick Buechner. It was first published in 1958 by Alfred A. Knopf, New York. Plot summary Retired government operative ...

'', a character jokes that the red was for "the blood you never shed... Blue for the ocean you never crossed. And yellow for the streak down your back."

References

{{Authority control 1942 establishments in the United States 1945 disestablishments in the United States American Theater of World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

Replacement and School Command The United States Replacement and School Command was a training and receiving formation of the United States Army during World War II. History It was established as part of the Army Ground Forces in March 1942, after it was noted that divisi ...