Major General James E Chaney, an Army Air Corps officer, arrived in the United Kingdom on 18 May 1941 and established , Headquarters, Special Observer Group (SPOBS) on the following day in London.



SPOBS role was to prepare for the possible establishment and employment of US Ground and Air Forces in the UK, but also studied the use of British lend lease supplies.



After the United States entered the war on 7 December 1941, SPOBS was succeeded by United States Army Forces in the British Isles (USAFBI), actually SPOBS under a new name.