European Civil Affairs Division
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The European Civil Affairs Division (ECAD) was a unit assigned to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from February 1944[1] to July 1945.
| European Civil Affairs Division | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | February 1944 - July 1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Army |
| Role | Civil Affairs |
| Garrison/HQ | Shrivenham, England Manchester, England |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Col. Cuthbert Stearns Feb.-May 1944 Col. Henry Pendleton May 1944 - July 1945 |
ECAD was created in Shrivenham, England[2] before D-Day and Colonel Cuthbert P. Stearns was its first commander.[3]
After the Normandy invasion, ECAD began to move into the formerly Nazi controlled areas beginning on September 9, 1944 to set up civil government run by the US Army until such time as it was practical to allow local administration. As the US Army moved east, the amount of former Nazi held territory grew and ECAD could not keep up with the need for specialists in medical, educational, sanitation,[4] and every other type of civil management.
ECAD enlisted personnel were required to score in Group II on the Army General Classification Test (AGCT) meaning they were above average. Most had been college students or white collar workers before enlisting.[2]
Fighting against disease was just as important to the ECAD as de-Nazifying the populace and installing working governance. The ECAD found typhus outbreaks as well as a lack of food and drinking water.[5] In August 1944, ECAD set up a School of Military Government near Paris to help with the issue.
Each ECAD detachment be in charge of a specific area and in that area carry out the essential functions of public safety, health, food distribution, restoring utilities, coordinate local labor, restore agriculture, set up military courts, secure financial institutions and property and begin restoring local governance.[2]