13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
13th Corps Support Command (COSCOM)

The mission of the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) is to, on order, provide command and control of assigned, attached and operational control (OPCON) units, and plan and provide sustainment, distribution, and health service support for full spectrum operations.

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

Soldiers of the 13th Support Brigade first deployed to Managua, Nicaragua, to assist in earthquake disaster relief from 23 December 1972 to 15 January 1973, with Brigade soldiers serving at Camp Christine, Managua, Nicaragua. In 1980, the 13th Support Brigade was reorganized and redesignated as the 13th Support Command (Crops), and again in 1989 as the 13th Corps Support Command.

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

In 1992, 13th Corps Support Command Soldiers deployed to Cuba to aid Haitian refugees during Operation Safe Harbor, and they assisted victims of Hurricane Andrew in Florida. Command soldiers led the way as III Corps units deployed to Kuwait to train and ensure the peace in support of Exercise Intrinsic Action. From December 1992 until May 1993, 13th Corps Support Command soldiers were deployed to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope. 13th Corps Support Command Commander Brigadier General Billy K. Solomon deployed along with a portion of the headquarters to Mogadishu to serve as the nucleus of Joint Task Force Support Command. The major units of the Task Force included the 593d Support Group from Fort Lewis, Washington; the 36th Engineer Group from Fort Benning, Georgia; the 7th Transportation Group from Fort Eustis, Virginia; and 62d Medical Group, also from Fort Lewis, Washington. Soldiers of the 13th Corps Support Command returned in May 1993.

From October through December 1994, 13th Corps Support Command soldiers provided multifunctional logistical support to Army Forces supporting Exercise Vigilant Warrior in Kuwait. Elements of the 13th Corps Support Command conducted humanitarian and/or peacekeeping missions in Cuba as part of Operation Sea Signal V; in Haiti as part of Operation Uphold Democracy; in Honduras in support of the Joint Task Force - Bravo (JTF-B) mission Strong; and as part of NATO Stabilization Force 6 (SFOR6) in Bosnia. The 13th Corps Support Command also deployed engineers to Thule, Greenland for a support mission as well.

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.

With over half of its support capability residing with Army Reserve and National Guard units, the 13th Corps Support Command took time out to show those units where they fit into the Command's battle plan, as Corps Support Command's leaders welcomed more than 200 members of Active, Guard and Reserve units from around the country, and Korea, to its annual Wartrace Conference from 19 to 21 March 2001. The intent of the 3-day conference was to discuss lessons learned from recent training exercises, such as Phantom Lifeline, and to improve wartime planning, mission capability and readiness, and demonstrate new technology within the Corps Support Command. Attendees got to see what part they played in the Command's battle plans, air and support operations, and the Corps Support Command's redesign, along with a tour of the command's nerve center, its Tactical Logistics Operations Center (TLOC). A good slice of the Corps Service Support Control System (CSSCS) came from the Reserve components, so to get us all of the units together and focused on the same was a tremendous opportunity. The digitization and ability to get real-time information and to be able to get that information out to the user was quite amazing.

Following the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on 11 September 2001, elements of the 13th Corps Support Command supported Operations Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began in 2003, again saw 13th Corps Support Command units deployed, including 64th Corps Support Group directly supporting the 4th Infantry Division. Elements of the 49th Transportation Battalion (Movement Control) had been continuously deployed in the region since 1997 and remained a critical node supporting all US and coalition forces.

The 13th Corps Support Command, which provided logistical and medical support units to III Corps, deployed a Medical Evacuation Headquarters and an Air Evacuation Company on 12 February 2003 to Kuwait. These units were to reposition forces as required to support the President's Global War on Terror (later termed Overseas Contingency Operations). Eventually, the 13th Corps Support Command deployed both of its local Brigades in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom while the Headquarters and separate units supported the families at Fort Hood, Texas.

However, in August 2003, the call came once again for the soldiers of the 13th Corps Support Command headquarters to participate in the ongoing operations in Iraq. The 13th Corps Support Command colors were cased in preparation for deployment on 18 December 2003 during a ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas.

On 31 January 2004, the 13th Corps Support Command completed a transfer of authority with the 3rd Corps Support Command at Life Support Area (LSA) Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, and assumed command and control 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 Corps Support Command during Operation Iraqi Freedom II, were the Corps Distribution Command (Provisional), the 172nd Corps Support Group from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (-) from January to April 2004, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina; the 81st Brigade Combat Team (-) from April to December 2004, an element of the Washington State Army National Guard); the 593rd Corps Support Group from Fort Lewis, Washington; the 167th Corps Support Group from Londonderry, New Hampshire; and the 300th Area Support Group from Fort Lee, Virginia.

On 12 December 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 Corps Support Command processed 2,000 tons of mail; averaged over 200 convoys a day for a total of 62,000 convoys involving 750,000 vehicles during 2004; and was responsible as well for quality of life improvements, including indoor and outdoor swimming pools and theaters. The 13th Corps Support Command uncased its colors at Fort Hood, Texas on 21 January 2005.

Deep in the process of deploying and redeploying 13th Corps Support Command units, key elements were called into action in support of Joint Task Force Katrina/Rita hurricane relief efforts in the summer of 2005. Deployed elements of the 13th Corps Support Command 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.

As of 2005, The 13th Corps Support Command was one of only 4 throughout the active Army. The Command's mission was to provide combat support and combat service support to units of III Corps in the areas of supply, maintenance, transportation, field services, medical engineering construction, smoke generation, and decontamination. The 13th Corps Support Command also operated the Fort Hood ammunition supply point, staffed troop medical clinics, and provides helicopter evacuation support to units at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as well as Fort Hood.

The 13th Corps Support Command had the specific missions of: Command and control of all assigned and attached units; and providing combat service support to all III Corps units through Direct Support Maintenance to non-divisional units, General Support Maintenance, back-up Direct Support Maintenance to the 1st Cavalry Division and 4th Infantry Division, and support to selected installation activities and functions.

The COSCOM's capability to provide combat support and combat service support was not limited to just the Divisions. The Corps Support Command also provided support to the following brigade-size III Corps units at Fort Hood: 3rd Signal Brigade, 3rd Personnel Group, 13th Finance Group, 89th Military Police Brigade, and the 504th Military Intelligence Brigade.

The 13th Corps Supprot Command also had the responsibility of supporting units that were based outside of the installation. Those units included: the 31st Air Defense Artillery at Fort Bliss, Texas; 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Riley, Kansas; 3rd Armor Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado; III Corps Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; the 49th Armored Division of the Texas Army National Guard; and the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard.

The 13th Corps Support Command was Fort Hood's third largest unit with strength of almost 6,000 soldiers. The Command was comprised of the 1st Medical Brigade, the 64th Corps Support Group, and a provisional group, know as the Phantom Support Group, which provided command and control for the 2nd Chemical Battalion, 49th Transportation Battalion, 62nd Engineer Battalion, and the 4th Corps Material Management Center.

On 16 February 2006, the 13th Corps Support Command was reorganized and redesignated as the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). This reorganization was part of the transformation of the US Army to the modular force structure. On 12 July 2006, the 13th Sustainment Command colors were cased in preparation for the Headquarters' deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08. The unit departed Fort Hood on 22 August 2006. Still in the process of its transformation, it deployed to Iraq with a hybrid Corps Support Command / Expeditionary Support Command structure due to mission requirements in Theater.

During rotation, the 13th Sustainment Command had 7 subordinate brigades with more than 30 battalions and over 20,000 Soldiers, providing sustainment support and security throughout the theater of operations. The brigades were the 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 8 August 2007, the 13th Sustainment Command again said farewell to LSA Anaconda when it transferred authority to the 316th Sustainment Command. During their rotation the Command had pumped 584 million gallons of fuel, distributed one million cases of MREs, 3 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 convoys 19.6 million miles. The 13th Sustainment Command uncased its colors at Fort Hood, Texas on 14 September 2007.

Upon return from Iraq, the 13th Sustainment Command completed its transformation from a legacy Corps Support Command structure to the modular Expeditionary Sustainment Command structure through the realignment of the 2nd Chemical Battalion under the 48th Chemical Brigade and the inactivation of the former Corps Support Command's Special Troops Battalion and the 4th Corps Materiel Management Center.

The new modular unit, upon deployment, would have the ability to assume command and control of assigned, attached, and operational control sustainment units as directed by a Corps or Combined/Joint Task Force (C/JTF) headquarters. The 13th Sustainment Command would provide sustainment and distribution support on an area basis, and provide direct support to Echelons Above Brigade units within each subordinate sustainment brigade area of operations. The Command would provide this support by synchronizing the distribution of Class I (subsistence and gratuitous health and comfort items), Class II (Clothing, individual equipment, tentage, organizational tool sets and kits, hand tools, administrative and housekeeping supplies and equipment), Class III (bulk and packaged petroleum products), Class IV (construction and barrier materials), Class V (ammunition), Class VII (major end items), and Class IX (repair parts and components). The Command would also manage and perform maintenance operations for supported customers.

As of 2010, while in garrison, the 13th Sustainment Command provided command and control for the 1st Medical Brigade, the 4th Sustainment Brigade, and the 15th Sustainment Brigade on Fort Hood, and maintained Training and Readiness Authority over 21 units located at Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Riley, Kansas. Additionally, the 13th Sustainment Command provided Administrative Control for the 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion at Fort Hood. At that time, the 13th Sustainment Command was Fort Hood's third largest unit with a local strength of over 6,000 soldiers.

While at Fort Hood, the 13th Sustainment Command provided sustainment support to all units on the installation, including the 1st Cavalry Division, 4th Infantry 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 Command provided reinforcing support to the Fort Hood Directorate of Logistics.