13th COSCOM Association
The Official Association of the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

History of the Lucky 13th
United States Army 13th Support Command (Expeditionary)

The 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) was activated at Ford Hood as the 13th Support Brigade in September 1965. As the nation's involvement in Vietnam was increasing, this brigade was formed and tasked with training technical services units to assume combat service support missions in Southeast Asia.

The command continued to evolve due to increased missions and changing roles, and, along with similar units, was redesignated as the 13th Support Command (Corps) in 1980, then as the 13th Corps Support Command (COSCOM) in March 1989. As part of Army Transformation, the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) was reflagged in its current configuration on 16 Feb 2006. A formal ceremony was held on 23 Feb. 2006.

Soldiers of the 13th ESC first deployed to Managua, Nicaragua, to assist in earthquake disaster relief from 23 Dec 1972 to 15 Jan 1973, with 13th ESC soldiers serving at Camp Christine, Managua, Nicaragua.

In the fall of 1990, units from the 13th ESC deployed to Saudi Arabia to provide combat support and combat service support during Operations Desert Shield and Storm. During Operation Desert Calm and Operation Provide Comfort, ESC soldiers served proudly in the Persian Gulf area.

In 1992, 13th ESC Soldiers deployed to Cuba to aid Haitian refugees during Operation Safe Harbor, and later assisted victims of Hurricane Andrew in Florida. 13th ESC soldiers led the way as III Corps units deployed to Kuwait to train and ensure the peace in support of Operation Intrinsic Action. In 1992, the U.S. Central Command established United Task Force Somalia (UNITAF) in light of the worsening situation in Somalia and 13th ESC was called to duty again. 13th ESC Commander Brig. Gen. Billy K. Solomon deployed along with a portion of the headquarters to Mogadishu to serve as the nucleus of Joint Task Force Support Command. Their major units included the 593d Support Group (Fort Lewis), 36th Engineer Group (Fort Benning), 7th Transportation Group (Fort Eustis), and 62d Medical Group (Fort Lewis). The Headquards of the Lucky 13th returned in May 1993.

From October through December 1994, 13th ESC soldiers provided multifunctional sustainment support to Army Forces supporting Operation Vigilant Warrior in Kuwait. Units of the 13th ESC conducted humanitarian and/or peacekeeping missions in Cuba as part of Operation Sea Signal V, Haiti Operation Uphold Democracy, Honduras JTF-B, Operation Strong Support, and were a part of Stabilization Force (SFOR) 6 in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The 13th ESC also deployed their engineers to Thule, Greenland, for additional support missions.

Soldiers from the command have responded to the call to lend a hand, whether it was removing snow in Massachusetts, aiding flood victims in Louisiana, processing refugees in Arkansas, fighting forest fires in Montana, assisting earthquake victims in Mexico or helping flood victims in Curio, Texas.

Following the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, elements of the 13th ESC supported Operations Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Operation Iraqi Freedom again saw 13th ESC units deployed including 64th Corps Support Group directly supporting the 4th Infantry Division. Elements of the 49th Movement Control Battalion have been continuously deployed in the region since 1997 and remain a critical node supporting all U.S. and coalition forces.

13th ESC first deployed a Medical Evacuation Headquarters and an Air Evacuation Company on Feb. 12, 2003, to Kuwait. Those units were to reposition forces as required to support the president’s global war against terrorism. Eventually, the 13th ESC deployed both of its local Brigades in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom while the Headquarters and separate units supported the families at Ft Hood, TX.

However, in August 2003, the call came once again for the soldiers of the 13th ESC headquarters to participate in the ongoing operations in Iraq. In preparation for its first major deployment since Somalia, The 13th ESC colors were cased in a deployment and retreat ceremony held on the afternoon of December 18, 2004, at Sadowski Field on Fort Hood.

On January 31st, 2004, the 13th ESC completed a transfer of authority with the 3rd Corps Support Command at Life Support Area (LSA) Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, and assumed C2 to provide sustainment support to Coalition Joint Task Force Seven in Iraq, later redesignated as the Multinational Corps, Iraq (MNC-I).

Major units serving with the 13th ESC for OIF II were the Corps Distribution Command (Provisional), the 172nd Corps Support Group (Broken Arrow, OK), the 504th PIR(-) (Jan-Apr 04) (Ft Bragg, NC)), the 81st BCT(-) (Apr-Dec 04) (WAARNG), 593rd Corps Support Group (Ft Lewis, WA), 167th Corps Support Group (Londonderry, NH), and the 300th Area Support Group (Ft Lee, VA).

On Dec. 12, 2004, the 13th Corps Support Command said farewell to LSA Anaconda as it transferred authority to the 1st Corps Support Command. During its time at LSA Anaconda, the 13th ESC processed 2,000 tons of mail; averaged over 200 convoys a day for a total of 62,000 convoys involving 750,000 vehicles; and was responsible for quality of life improvements for the joint forces. The 13th ESC uncased its colors, again on Sadowski Field, at Ft Hood, Texas, on 21 January 2005.

Deep in the process of deploying and redeploying 13th ESC units, key elements of 13th ESC were called into action in support of Joint Task Force Katrina/Rita hurricane relief efforts in the summer of 2005. 13th ESC provided 100 million rations, collected human remains with dignity, executed emergency engineering operations, transported, distributed and stored over one billion dollars in humanitarian relief from both non-governmental and federal sources from across the nation.

On July 12, 2006 the 13th ESC colors were cased in preparation for the headquarters’ deployment to Iraq in support of OIF 06-08, and the unit departed Fort Hood on August 22, 2006. Although the unit was formally reflagged as an ESC in February 2006, it deployed to Iraq with a hybrid COSCOM / ESC structure due to mission requirements in Theater.

During rotation 06-08 the 13th ESC had seven subordinate brigades with more than 30 battalions and over 20,000 Soldiers, providing sustainment support and security throughout the theater of operations. The brigades serving under 13th ESC were 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, 15th Sustainment Brigade, 45th Sustainment Brigade, 657TH Area Support Group, 164th Corps Support Group, 593rd Sustainment Brigade and 82nd Sustainment Brigade.

On Aug. 8, 2007, the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) said farewell to LSA Anaconda for a second time when it transferred authority to the 316th Sustainment Command. During their rotation the 13th ESC pumped 584 million gallons of fuel, distributed one million cases of MREs, three billion gallons of bulk water, 28 million cases of bottled water, 16,000 tons of ice, 10,000 tons of ammunition, $2.2 billion in Class IX in support of Coalition Forces and 20 Brigade Combat Team, and drove 19.6 million miles. The 13th ESC uncased its colors, on Sadowski Field, at Ft Hood, Texas, on September 14, 2007.

Upon return from OIF 06-08, the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) completed its transformation from a legacy COSCOM structure to the modular ESC structure through the realignment of the 2^nd Chemical Battalion under the 48^th Chemical Brigade and the inactivation of the former COSCOM’s Special Troops Battalion (STB) and the 4^th Corps Materiel Management Center.

The command’s primary missions are to provide command and control of assigned, attached and operational control (OPCON) units, and to plan for and provide sustainment (supply, maintenance, and field services), distribution, and health service support for full spectrum operations.

Currently, the 13th ESC is Fort Hood's third largest unit with a local strength of over 6,000 Soldiers. The command is comprised of the 1st Medical Brigade, 4^th Sustainment Brigade, and the 15^th Sustainment Brigade.

The 1^st Medical Brigade consists of two battalions located on Fort Hood (21st Combat Support Hospital and 61st Multifunctional Medical Battalion), and maintains Training and Readiness Authority (TRA) over three battalions and thirteen company/detachment sized units located on four separate installations.

The 4^th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Brigade Troops Battalion (BTB), and 553^rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) are currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 15^th Sustainment Brigade currently consists of three battalions on Fort Hood (15^th Special Troops Battalion (STB), 180^th Transportation Battalion, and 49^th Transportation Battalion (Movement Control); the 15^th Sustainment Brigade also maintains TRA over five companies located on three separate installations.

Upon redeployment of the 4^th Sustainment Brigade, the 15^th Sustainment Brigade will transfer their subordinate units (less the STB) to the 4^th Sustainment Brigade in preparation for their own deployment.

At Fort Hood, the 13th ESC provides sustainment support to all units on the installation, including the 1^st Cavalry Division, 4^th Infantry Division, 3^rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 36^th Engineer Brigade, 41^st Fires Brigade, 48^th Chemical Brigade, 69^th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 89^th Military Police Brigade, 504^th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, and several other tenant organizations. Additionally, the ESC provides reinforcing support to the Fort Hood Directorate of Logistics.