19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command
19th Theater Support Command
19th Theater Army Area Command

In December 2005, the 19th Theater Support Command was redesignated as the 19th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). The 19th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) mission was to support maintaining the Armistice and deterrence of North Korean aggression against the Republic of Korea (ROK). Should deterrence fail, the 19th Expeditionary Support Command's mission would be to support Noncombatant Evacuation Operations; transitions to wartime posture; conduct of Reception, Staging and Onward Movement of deploying US forces; and performing Army Support to Other Services (ASOS) in support of operations on the Korean peninsula. On order, it would also conduct redeployment operations.

The redesignated 19th Expedtionary Support Command remained the largest forward-deployed multi-component ESC in the US Army as of 2005. It was headquartered in Daegu, South Korea and provided logistical support to the Eighth United States Army. The 19th Expeditionary Support Command also assisted and coordinated the collective efforts of individual subordinate commands and units located throughout the Republic of Korea. The Command Reserve Components remained at the ready to deploy during contingency situations and are located in Des Moines, Iowa. Collectively, the 19th Expeditionary Support Command comprised a team of professionals to support the 37,000 US troops stationed in the Republic of Korea.

Prior to 2005, the 19th Theater Support Command's mission was to also provide direct combat service support to units in or passing through the Communication and Combat Zones within the Republic of Korea, in the event of hostilities. Additionally the 19th Theater Support Command would provide general combat service support to the Theater. The members of 19th Theater Support Command would be responsible for executing a transition to war; coordinating and conducting base defense operations; Reception, Staging and Onward Movement and Integration of augmentation forces, should it ever become necessary. It would also, on order, provide specified logistic support to Allies and other US Forces. During peace time,the mission of the 19th Theater Support Command included providing US Army installation/Base Operations Support and ensuring a quality of life for assigned soldiers, civilians and family members by providing them with everything needed for health, comfort and morale during their assignment to the Republic. These responsibilites were passed to US Army Installation Management Command - Korea after its activation in 2006.

The 19th Theater Support Command had been a "multi-component organization." It was the main logistics unit for US forces in Korea. Aligned with the 19th Theater Support Command were various Army Reserve and National Guard units in the United States under the so-called "wartrace program." Those stateside units were either under State or Reserve commanders. The 19th Theater Support Command also maintained its deputy commanding general, a reservist, at its stateside headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. In wartime, it was planned that the 19th Theater Support Command in South Korea would expand suddenly, with various Army Reserve and National Guard units deploying to South Korea to become a working part of the unit. One of the 19th Theater Support Command's main wartime missions was to ensure troops, equipment and supplies flowed into Korea and got forwarded to the combat zone.

The 19th Theater Support Command had about 3,000 soldiers in South Korea. Full deployment of its Reserve and National Guard components could have brought it to a wartime strength of about 20,000. These personnel would include cooks, clerks, mechanics, mortuary technicians and soldiers in a host of other logistics job fields. Reserve and National Guard personnel therefore deployed to the 19th Theater Support Command in Korea for annual exercises such as RSO&I and Foal Eagle.

The 19th TSC traces its history to August 1952, when the 2nd and 3rd Logistic Commands were combined to become the Korean Communications Zone (COMMZ) at the height of the Korean conflict. In July 1956, the unit was redesignated as the Eighth United States Army Support Command, and later as the US Army Area Command, and then as the 7th Logistical Command. In the 1960's logistic support was again divided in South Korea, with one command for the north and one for the south.

As a result, the 19th Support Command was activated on 15 July 1964 at Yongsan Military Reservation in Seoul. It was relocated to Taegu on 13 March 1970 as a part of the consolidation of Eighth Army Support and Depot Commands. The 19th Support Command was part of the US Army Korea Support Command until that command was dissolved. The 19th Support Command then merged with the 23rd Support Group to form the 19th Support Brigade (Provisional).

In November 1974, the 19th Support Brigade became a non divisional brigade. The 19th Support Brigade was redesignated as the 19th Support Command (Provisional) between February and March 1977.

On 14 February 1994, the 19th Support Command headquartered in Taegu was redesignated the 19th Theater Army Area Command, which was refered to as the 19th TAACOM (Forward). This redesignation was to denote a greater level of logistics responsibility, as well as to affirm the connection with the 19th TAACOM (CA) in Des Moines, Iowa, which had been recently created. The 19th TAACOM (Forward) exercised command and control over 3 support groups including the 20th Support Group in Taegu, the 23rd Support Group in Pyontaek, the 34th Support Group in Seoul, as well as the 501st Support Group (Corps) in Uijongbu. Smaller subordinate commands were scattered throughout the peninsula.

On 16 June 2000, the 19th Theater Army Area Command was redesignated the 19th Theater Support Command (Provisional). In October 2000, the 19th Theater Support Command was formally activated as one of the US Army's first Multi-Component commands, blending active duty and reserve component units into a single, seamless command. In October 2000, the 6th Support (Materiel Management) was merged with the 55th Theater Support Command (Materiel Maintenance Center) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to create a new multi-station unit, with an active component based in Korea as part of the 19th Theater Support Command.

In November 2002 senior members of the 19th Theater Support Command in Korea met in Des Moines, Iowa with the Reserve and National Guard commanders whose units were "wartraced" to the Command. The conference marked the first time all the 19th Theater Support Command's Reserve and National Guard components were issued crucial written guidance called "wartrace mission letters." The documents spelled out the 19th Theater Support Command's commanding general's training and other priorities. The Reserve units could use that information to tailor their own training plans in line with that of the unit's commanding general.

On 16 December 2005, the 19th Theater Support Command was redesignated the 19th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), becoming the first Theater Support Command in the Army to transform into a Sustainment Command. The 34th Area Support Group had been inactivated in 2004 and the 20th and 23rd Area Support Groups were inactivated in June 2006. Their subordinate units were either inactivated or reassigned prior and during to the transformation. Some of the units were later reactivated as part of the reorganized 501st Sustainment Brigade or US Army Material Support Center - Korea. The Area Support Activities were reassigned to the US Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) in 2007.