Organization and Designation
This page maintained by
CSM (Ret) Dan Elder.
The 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) was
constituted on 11 August 1965 in the Regular Army as the
13th Support Brigade and was activated at Ford Hood on
September 24th, 1965. On August 11, 1966 a
specially designed should sleeve insignia
was approved.
The command continued to evolve due to
increased missions and changing roles, and,
along with similar units, was redesignated as
the 13th Corps Support Command on June 21, 1975
and then 13th Support Command (Corps) in
October 16, 1980. The naming continued to
evolve as the Command was redesignated as the 13th Corps Support Command
(COSCOM) on March 1, 1989 and was reorganized
and redesignated as the 13th Support Command (Corps) on October 16, 2000.
In the wake of two wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq and in an
attempt to make the Army more agile
and rapidly deployable, the command
was reorganized as the first COSCOM
to restructure and deploy to combat
as an Expeditionary Sustainment
Command, and redesignated at the
13th Sustainment Command
A 21st Evacuation Hospital, 13th Spt
Bde soldier distributes
food and clothing 10 miles from Managua.
The 13th Support Brigade soldiers
were first deployed to Nicaragua
after the December 23rd 1972 6.2
magnitude earthquake that left 5,000
dead, 20,000 injured and over
250,000 were left homeless. The 13th
was to command and control the US
Army service and support forces who
were assisting in earthquake
disaster relief from 23 Dec 1972 to
15 January 1973. They joined
engineer and aviation units
supporting US Southern Command,
with 13th Support Brigade
establishing and running Camp
Christine in Managua, Nicaragua.
The Command would not deploy again until 1993,
however units from the 13th COSCOM deployed to
Saudi Arabia to provide combat support and
combat service support during Operations Desert
Shield and Storm, and in follow-on operations
Operation Desert Calm and Operation Provide
Comfort .
Soldiers of the 224th Med Det, 36th Med
Group, JTF Support Command, pose during Operation Restore Hope
(Fort Eustis), and 62d Medical Group
(Fort Lewis). The "Lucky 13th" Headquarters
would not return until May 19, 1993.
Although composed entirely of United States
Army units, JTF
Support Command was not a part of Army Forces Somalia, it was a separate
functional element on an equal basis with the
Service components. 13th COSCOM Commander Brig. Gen. Billy K. Solomon deployed with the advance party to oversea the build-up of Joint Task Force Support Command.
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Fort Hood Main Gate. Note the
STRAF designation for the 13th Support
Brigade
(Expeditionary)
on 16 Feb 2006. A formal ceremony
was held on 23 Feb. 2006.
History
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 13th Support
Brigade was a Strategic Army Force
(STRAF) unit with a mission to
provide a mobilization expansion
base, a source of trained units and
replacements to support forces
deployed overseas. STRAF units were
a combat-ready element designed to
serve as a readily available force
for use wherever needed.
SPC Ken Bergen, D co, 62nd Engineer Bn,
13th Spt Bde,
during field training
in 1976.
In 1992, 13th COSCOM units 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 COSCOM was charged with would
provide command and control for
logistics support in the theater.
Their major units included the 593d
Support Group (Fort Lewis), 36th
Engineer Group (Fort Benning), 7th
Transportation Group
University Building, the 13th COSCOM HQs in Somalia
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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.
BG Charles S. Mahan, Jr., 13th COSCOM Commander and
the subordinate commanders pose for a Command Photo
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.
View of Roberts Hall, the 13th ESC HQs, and
the former 64th Corps Support Group sign.
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
Sign posted on the 13th SC(E) Chapel
during relief efforts in New Orleans
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.
13th ESC Command Center in Balad, Iraq.
The 13th ESC has a Sustainment Brigade it
provides training readiness oversight to on
Fort Hood, the 4th Sustainment Brigade. The 4th
Sustainment Brigade consists of 4th Brigade
Troops Battalion (BTB), and 553rd Combat
Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB), 180th
Transportation Battalion, and 49th
Transportation Battalion (Movement Control).
Leveraging Sustainment Organizations in CONUS
(LSOC) authorizes Active Component (AC)
Expeditionary Sustainment Commands (ESCs) in
CONUS to support Senior Commanders (SCs),
installation Mission Support Elements (MSEs),
sustainment organizations, and sustainment
staff officers efforts to resolve mentorship,
training, and materiel management shortfalls in
these formations caused by repeated deployments
and the complexities of the Echelons Above
Brigade (EAB) ARFORGEN process. LSOC does not
change existing Command and Control (C2) or
Training and Readiness Authority (TRA)
relationships; rather, it provides the two AC
ESCs with coordinating authority. |
LTG Tomas Metz, MNC-I & III Corps Cdr,
BG William Troy, DCG, BG Walter Natynczyk,
DCG-Canadian, BG James E. Chambers. 13th
COSCOM Cdr.
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.
COL Joseph Hightower, 13th COSCOM
Chief of Staff surveys the newly
included Iraqi flag in the color
guard formation during Transfer of
Authority practice, Dec. 2004.
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
A 13th ESC soldier loads a pallet
in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Iraq.
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 2nd Chemical
Battalion under the 48th Chemical
Brigade and the inactivation of the
former COSCOM’s Special Troops
Battalion (STB) and the 4th 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.
BG Paul Wentz and CSM Mark Joseph
uncase the 13th ESC colors at Ft
Hood. |
At Fort Hood, the 13th ESC provides sustainment support
to all units on the installation, including the 1st
Cavalry Division, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment,
36th Engineer Brigade, 41st Fires Brigade, 48th
Chemical Brigade, 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade,
89th Military Police Brigade, 504th Battlefield
Surveillance Brigade, and several other tenant
organizations. Additionally, the ESC provides
reinforcing support to the Fort Hood Directorate of
Logistics.
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