Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command during World War II. It was one of four major commands during the Pacific War, and one of two United States commands in the Pacific theatre of operations. Admiral Chester Nimitz of the US Navy headed the command throughout its existence. In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the... US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War, which is known in Japan as the Greater East Asia War, occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ... The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) is the term used in the United States for all military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, in World War II. Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader conflict between the Allies and Japan... Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was the Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces for the United States and Allied forces during World War II. He was the nations leading authority on submarines, as well as Chief of the Navys Bureau of Navigation... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ...

Map of Pacific Theater

The vast majority of Allied forces in the theatre were from the US Navy and US Marine Corps. However units and/or personnel from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Fiji and other countries also saw active service. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ...

On 24 March 1942, the newly-formed British and US Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. Six days later the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) divided the Pacific theater into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), and the South East Pacific Area. March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. ... Joint Chiefs of Staff symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) is a panel comprising the highest-ranking members of each major branch of the armed services in any particular country. ... This article deals with the military command/theatre known as the South West Pacific Area. ...

The JCS designated Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA), with operational control over all units (air, land, and sea) in that area. Mainland Asia was excluded from the POA, as were the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, the Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the western part of the Solomon Islands. US strategic bomber forces in the theatre were under the direct control of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. All land forces in Alaska and Canada remained under the control of the US Army's Western Defense Command (see World War II: Aleutian Islands). World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands Indië) was the name of the colonies colonised by the Dutch East India Company which came under administration of the Netherlands during the ninteenth century (see Indonesia). ... The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of New Guinea in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, named in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck and belonging to Papua New Guinea. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Senators Ted Stevens (R) Lisa Murkowski (R) Official languages English Area 1,067,653 mi² / 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water... US Army Seal The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

The Joint Chiefs further divided the Pacific Ocean Areas into the North, Central, and South Pacific Areas. Nimitz designated subordinate commanders for the North and South Pacific Areas (NORPAC and SOPAC) but retained the Central Pacific Area (CENPAC), including the Hawaiian Department, under his direct command.

In the separate South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur assumed command. The effective result of this organizational scheme was the creation of two separate commands in the Pacific: POA and SWPA, each reporting separately to the Joint Chiefs, each competing for scarce resources in an economy-of-force theater, and each headed by a commander in chief (CINC) from a different service. In particular, the division of the Solomons caused problems, since the battles of the Solomon Islands campaign in 1942–1943 ranged over the whole region, with the main Japanese bases in SWPA and the main Allied bases in SOPAC. General Douglas MacArthur aboard a battle ship toward the end of World War II, 1945 Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880-5 April 1964) was an American military leader. ...

Commanders, South Pacific Area

• Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley (19 June – 18 October 1942)
• Vice Adm./Adm. William F. Halsey (18 October 1942 – 15 June 1944)
• Vice Adm. John H. Newton (15 June 1944 – 13 March 1945)
• Vice Adm. William L. Calhoun (13 March – 2 September 1945)

Robert Lee Ghormley (15 October 1883 – 21 June 1958) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. VADM Robert L. Ghormley, 1942 Ghormley was born in Portland, Oregon, on 15 October 1883. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... William Bull Halsey William Frederick Bull Halsey, Jr. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ...

Commanders, North Pacific Area

• Rear Adm. Robert A. Theobald (17 May 1942 – 4 January 1943)
• Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid (4 January – 11 October 1943)
• Vice Adm. Frank J. Fletcher (11 October 1943 – 2 September 1945)

May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Thomas Cassin Kinkaid (3 April 1888 – 17 November 1972) was an admiral of the United States Navy, who commanded the 7th Fleet in the Pacific during World War II. Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid watches landing operations in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, from the bridge of his flagship, USS Wasatch (AGC-9... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in Leap years). ... Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, USN Photographed on board ship, 17 September 1942. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in Leap years). ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ...

External links

• army.mil: Central Pacific 1941–1943
• Strategy and Command: The First Two Years
• The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II, Appendix I