On 2 January 1942 the order activating the Eighth Air Force was signed and the headquarters was formed at Savannah, Georgia on 28 January. The War Department in Washington, D.C. announced that US ground forces were sent to Northern Ireland. On 8 January the activation of US Forces in the British Isles (USAFBI) was announced, and VIII Bomber Command (VIII BC) was established in England during February 1942. VIII BC was established at RAF Bomber Command Headquarters at High Wycombe on 22 February.