8 - 14 January 1962

Secretary McNamara Reorganizes Army

It was called the Hoelscher Committee Report, after its chairman, the Deputy Comptroller of the Army, Leonard W. Hoelscher. But most knew it simply as PROJECT 80. And its acceptance during the Kennedy Administration signaled the end of a tradition for the Quartermaster Corps.

After months of meetings and countless briefings, the committee of fifty officers and thirteen civilians recommended a dramatic restructuring of the Army -- that included the creation of Army Materiel Command (AMC) and a “functionalized” approach to logistics. Also doing away with the Office of the Quartermaster General.

An end to the once proud technical service chiefs was announced on 8 December 1961, thereafter known as “Black Friday.” The Secretary of Defense made it official with an Executive Order issued on January 10th. The “McNamara Revolution” won Congress’s approval the following month.

Reforms were needed to strengthen Army logistics. But strength comes from tradition as well. So in 1983 the Office of the Quartermaster General was formally reestablished.

Compiled by Dr. Steven Anders, former Quartermaster School historian