21st Theater Sustainment Command
21st Theater Support Command
21st Theater Army Area Command

The mission of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command is to provide theater sustainment throughout US Europe Command (EUCOM) and US Africa Command (AFRICOM) areas of responsibility in support of US Army Europe (USAREUR) and Seventh US Army. It would, on order, deploy to support theater opening, distribution, and Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and enable Integration functions and be prepared to support Joint and Coalition forces.

Previously, as the 21st Theater Support Command, the unit's mission was to provide trained and ready forces to conduct theater-level deployment and redeployment support for a contingency force in support of EUCOM and Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) directed regional military objectives, or in support of NATO and UN military objectives; theater-level sustainment including military industrial operations, materiel distribution, split-based operations, and deployable logistics force packages; reception, staging, onward movement and integration activities; and force reconstitution as required. It operates at the operational level of combat service support with links to the strategic and tactical levels.

The 21st Theater Support Command's deployment related responsibilities included: Providing movement management services and highway traffic regulation in coordination with ODCSOPS to coordinate movements into, within, and out of theater for all modes of transport (air, sea, rail, inland waterway, and military/commercial line haul); receiving theater movement priorities from USAREUR MOC, ODCSOPS. Calling units forward through movement directives based on USAREUR ODCSOPS priorities; establishing, maintaining, and on order activating the USAREUR Deployment Processing Center (DPC) at Rhine Ordnance Barracks; being prepared to provide a deployable DPC capability to other APOE that are activated; establishing, as required, Air Support Centers for self-deploying aircraft; coordinating the establishment of life support activities in support of Port Support Activities (PSAs) activated at SPOEs; establishing and operating Convoy Support Centers (CSC) in coordination with the HN along MSRs to POEs and/or contingency areas. Reporting mission locations through 1st Transportation Agency (Movement Control); supervising, documenting, and augmenting rail support operations, if necessary; serving as USAREUR executive agent for Host Nation support; coordinating with all applicable host nation countries for transportation to include HAZMAT, customs and agriculture; coordinating or contracting as required for transportation support from unit home station to POE; serving as lead USAREUR agent for arranging/providing technical and diplomatic clearances; on order, receiving Area Support Groups placed under its operational control for conduct of deployment support operations within capability; providing or coordinating life support for deployment support sites; providing emergency maintenance support at POEs; in coordination with USAREUR DCSLOG and Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer (DCSEN), ensuring availability of BBPCT materials; in coordination with ASGs, establishing and operating required deployment support sites; providing force protection and transportation security as required; providing intransit visibility (ITV) of forces, associated equipment and sustainment cargo through the use of RF Tags, RF Tag Interrogators, Automated Manifest System (AMS) cards, Optical Memory Cards (OMC), and commercial tracking means; and providing containers to units for deployment.

Inheriting a distinguished tradition of combat service support, the lineage and honors of 21st Theater Support Command began on 23 June 1965 with the activation of the 1st Support Brigade. A maintenance support headquarters under Seventh Army Support Command, the Brigade's first home was Taylor Barracks, Mannheim.

After the United States military withdrawal from France in 1967 and the organization of the US Theater Army Support Command, Europe, informally known as TASCOM, the 1st Support Brigade became the rear area counterpart of the newly formed corps support commands. Assigned to TASCOM in 1969, 1st Support Brigade was responsible for Prepositioning of Materiel Configured to Unit Sets (POMCUS) and provided combat service support for U.S. units in the area west of the Rhein River.

In 1974, TASCOM was merged with Headquarters, United States Army, Europe, and the missions of 1st Support Brigade were expanded to include base operations support for 8 military communities, as well as the management of regional area support. The Brigade was upgraded to a general officer command and the headquarters moved to Panzer Kaseme, Kaiserslautem.

By mid-1976, the 1st Support Brigade's personnel strength was approximately 16,000, the largest brigade in the US Army. Consequently, the Department of the Army approved the elevation of the commander's position to Major General and on 19 August 1976 the Brigade was redesignated as the 21st Support Command.

During the next several years, important missions and units were assigned to the 21st Support Command and, in June 1981, the President of the United States elevated the commander's position to Lieutenant General, reflecting the organization's status as a Theater Army Area Command. Accordingly, on 18 October 1988, 21st Support Command was officially redesignated the 21st Theater Army Area Command.

After the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, US forces in Europe began a reduction in personnel to accompany the reduced threat. Authorizations for both military and civilian positions were decreased substantially and, in 1993, the grade of the 21st TAACOM commander was returned to Major General.

On the 18 October 2000, the 21st TAACOM structure was replaced by the Army and US Army Europe and transformed into the 21st Theater Support Command. This restructuring was needed to meet the needs of the Army and the nation in the 21st Century, by becoming a deploy able force. This change made the 21st Theater Support Command the Army's largest forward deployed unit and a major forward presence, in theater logistics organization in support of Central Region, Europe.

USAREUR planned reorganize headquarters functions on 1 October 2002, as part of the Army's worldwide effort to centralize installation management. Directed by the Secretary of the Army to streamline how the service did business, Transformation of Installation Management established 7 regional headquarters, 4 in the United States and 3 outside the Continental United States, to assume responsibility for all base operations at Army installations. TIM was designed to gain efficiencies in base operation support, enhance standardization of services across installations and allow tactical commanders to focus on their core responsibilities of training and readiness. No changes in functions, structure or manpower were to occur in tactical units, area support groups or base support battalions with the establishment of the TIM regional headquarters. There was also to be no change in the existing active-duty military strength in Europe of 62,000 soldiers. Instead, the new organizational structure would be created from existing positions at Headquarters, USAREUR and would take on those missions then being performed at the headquarters related to base operations support.

A process action team, formed from members of the USAREUR headquarters staff, worked numerous details to ensure the new organization was properly staffed, funded and organized. USAREUR officials also briefed the Head Works Council on the initiative to keep them apprised of potential changes involved with this new organization. USAREUR had been cited as a model for the TIM concept, based on its existing Area Support Group and Base Support Battalion structure. USAREUR had also been a leader in the establishment of quality of life standards, so the goals of TIM were really nothing new to the command.

In 2005, an official ceremony in Heidelberg, Germany marked the reflagging of the Installation Management Agency - Europe's Area Support Groups, Base Support Battalions, and Area Support Teams into 21 US Army Garrisons to align with the common US Army installation management structure worldwide, known as Standard Garrison Organization. The Area Support Groups and their subordinate entities were inactivated and reflagged as US Army Garrison Commands. These units were assigned to the Installation Management Agency - Europe, a subordinate entity of US Army Europe.

As part of the Army's transformation, the 200th Theater Distribution Brigade, 1st Transportation Agency (Movement Control), and the 37th Transportation Command were inactivated on 29 March 2007. Also as part of the transformation, in the summer 2007, the 21st Theater Support Command was redesiganted as the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, which subsequently activated a Special Troops Battalion.

The 29th Support Group, 21st Theater Sustainment Command was inactivated on 9 June 2008 as part of the restructuring of US forces in Europe. On 16 October 2008 the 1st Human Resources Sustainment Center was activated and assigned to the 21st Theater Sustainment Command. On 25 October 2009, the 7th US Army Reserve Command was inactivated and reflagged as the 7th Civil Support Command, which was assigned to the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, US Army Europe.

As part of continuing restructuring of US forces in Europe, it was announced on 1 March 2013 that Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 18th Engineer Brigade would be inactivated during 2014.