ADSEC: Difference between revisions

| caption = Shoulder sleeve insignia for AdvanceCommunications SectionZone, Communications ZoneETO

| notable_commanders = Brig. Gen. [[Ewart G. Plank]], Lt. Gen. [[John C. H. Lee]]

'''ADSEC''', officially the '''Advance Section of the Communications Zone''', was a military logistics unit active in the [[Second World War]]. It was the farthest forward supply unit in the US Army's [[European Theater of Operations]] (ETOUSA).<ref name="map">{{cite web |title=1945 Ciafalo and Helstrom WWII Pictorial Map of Europe: Advanced Supply Unit |url=https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/adsec-ciafalohelstrom-1945 |website=Geographicus Rare Antique Maps |access-date=22 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The section moved forward with the armies, establishingestablished by the [[Communications Zone]], the area directly behind the Combat Zone, in oderorder to provide close support to soldiers in combat.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Harold Larson |author2=Joseph Bykofsky |title=The Transportation Corps - Operation Overseas - U.S. Army Center of Military History |date=1990 |orig-date=1957 |page=235 |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-21/CMH_Pub_10-21.pdf}}</ref>

ADSEC was formally activated at Bristol, England in February 1944. Upon its creation, ADSEC was attached to the [[U.S. First Army]], but from the outset was one of the ten geographic sections of the [[Communications Zone]] (Com-Z, ETO) logistics organization, and was the first Army logistical agency on the continent. ADSEC officially began operations on 6 June 1944 with the [[Normandy landings]] (D-Day).

Because ADSEC moved with front lines, it did not have a "base" of operations and was designed to be on the move continuously. Instead, major operations always had a designated "D" day or start date, upon (or a few days after) which, ADSEC units were moved into the ''operating areas''. They stayed until about D+40, then moved on to the next "D" location, leaving [[FECOMZ]] (Forward Echelon, Communications Zone) units to take over. By the end of the war, the Com-Z comprised the United Kingdom Base, Channel Base, Normandy Base, Oise Intermediate Base, Seine Base Sections, ADSEC, the Bremen Port Command established to move materiel to the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific theater]] of Operations, and the Assembly Area Command to move men to the PTO or home. The Com-Z also comprised the Delta Base and Continental Advance Section (CONAD) coming from southern France in support of the [[Sixth United States Army Group]].

The patch, which is actually the entire [[Communications Zone]] ETO patch, represents the Allies breaking the chains of Nazi oppression. Soldiers in ADSEC would add a tab above the Com-Z patch, distinguishing them from the other nine geographic sections of the Com-Z. The patch is similar to the ETOUSA patch,{{cn|date=May 2024}} with the addition of the blue 5 pointed star in the white six lobed field, the emblem of the [[Army Service Forces]] organization.

Soldiers in ADSEC would add a tab above the Com-Z patch, distinguishing them from the other nine geographic sections of the Com-Z. <ref>{{cite web |title=Shoulder Sleeve Insignia |url=https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=15227&CategoryId=9132&grp=2&menu=Uniformed%20Services |website=tioh.army.mil |access-date=22 May 2024}}</ref>