30th Medical Command (Deployment Support)
30th Medical Brigade

The 30th Medical Command (Deployment Support) was first constituted in the Regular Army as the 30th Medical Regiment on 1 October 1933 in the state of Texas. It was first called into active service as the 30th Medical Regiment (Armored) at Camp Berkley, Texas on 25 July 1942. The unit was redesignated as the 30th Medical Group on 8 September 1943. During World War II, the unit was transferred to Liverpool, England in 1944 and left there for Omaha Beach. On 4 December 1944, the Group was reassigned to the Ninth US Army in support of actions in the Rhine and Ruhr Valleys and in the drive to the Elbe River. The 30th Medical Group received Campaign Streamers for participation in the Rhineland Campaign and Central European Campaign.

After the end of the Second World War, the unit redeployed home to Camp Swift, Texas on 30 August 1945. After the war, the 30th Medical Group served in a training status at Camp Swift, Texas; Camp Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Benning, Georgia. It was inactivated at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1949.

On 25 March 1953, the Group was reactivated in Korea where it coordinated the operations of all medical units in the Eighth US Army area, as well as providing primary medical and dental care and evacuation for United Nations' troops. For its outstanding work during the Korea campaigns, the 30th Medical Group was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation along with campaign participation credit for Third Korean Winter and Korea Summer 1953.

In 1955 the Group was transferred to the United States Army Europe (USAREUR), assigned to Seventh US Army, and stationed at what became Landstuhl Army Medical Center. In April 1955, the Headquarters, 30th Medical Group moved to Ludwigsburg, Germany. The 30th Medical Group was further attached to Headquarters, 7th Medical Brigade in 1965, thus becoming an original part of the US Army's first medical brigade. On 26 October 1979, the 30th Medical Group was transferred to 2nd Corps Support Command, VII Corps.

The Group deployed in December 1990 to Southwest Asia in support of first of Operations Desert Shield and subsequently Operation Desert Storm. The Group was assigned to the 332nd Medical Brigade and became the primary medical support to VII Corps and Allied fighting forces. The Group redeployed home to Germany in early May 1991. For its efforts, the unit received campaign participation credit for Defense of Saudi Arabia and Liberation and Defense of Kuwait.

In June and November of 1991, elements of the Group were transferred to V Corps, 68th Medical Group. On 19 March 1992, the 30th Medical Group was reorganized as the 30th Medical Brigade, a wartime command and control element of V Corps and a peacetime community health care agent of 7th Medical Command. The Army's 7th Medical Command, which was headquartered in Heidelberg and was a major separate command under USAREUR and Seventh US Army, had both a peacetime community healthcare mission and the mission to deploy its members in response to contingency operations. The contingency mission of 7th Medical Command went to 30th Medical Brigade, a separate brigade under V Corps, a major subordinate command of USAREUR and Seventh US Army. The Europe Regional Medical Command assumed responsibility for peacetime care.

The Army Medical Department did not have the personnel resource, though, to maintain a fully-staffed contingency force and to perform its peacetime mission. Hence, while the medical command was organized to provide community healthcare and was not deployable, its personnel supported the deployable medical missions of USAREUR. Staffing the Wuerzburg hospital was the 67th Combat Support Hospital, a unit subordinate to V Corps' 30th Medical Brigade. Similarly, personnel in the 212th Combat Support Hospital, also a 30th brigade unit, were imbedded in the Heidelberg hospital. These personnel supported the Europe Regional Medical Command peacetime mission when they had no deployable contingency mission. When they did have a deployable mission, Europe Regional Medical Command replaced them with personnel from the US Army Medical Command Activities and Army Reserve personnel to ensure continuity of peacetime community healthcare.

With the inactivation of 7th Medical Command during fall 1994, all 30th Medical Brigade TOE elements were assigned to V Corps with the Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. From November 1995 until December 1996, the Headquarters, 30th Medical Brigade and many of its subordinate units were deployed to Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. For its service, the 30th Medical Brigade was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award.

The 30th Medical Brigade continued its active involvement in the Balkans with its units rotating in and out of Bosnia until October 1998 when the 67th Combat Support Hospital returned to Germany. In March 1999, the 30th Medical Brigade began its support of Operation Allied Force in Albania, Macedonia and now in Kosovo.

On 13 February 2003, the 30th Medical Brigade and many of its subordinate units deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Brigade led all V Corps medical operations, reaching a strength of over 5,000 soldiers and commanding 78 different units. The 30th Medical Brigade treated thousands of American and Coalition Soldiers, enemy prisoners of war, contractors, and Iraqi civilians. The Brigade also worked closely with the Iraqi Ministry of Health in rebuilding the Iraqi medical infrastructure. Operation Iraqi Freedom was a historic achievement, for the 30th by becoming the largest medical brigade ever deployed and achieving the lowest died of wounds and disease and non-battle injury rates in the history of war. The Brigade's Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 units redeployed to Germany in February 2004, but a significant number of Soldiers in the Brigade remained deployed serving in both Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 and Operation Enduring Freedom 5.

The restructuring of US forces in Europe and the transformation of the US Army as a whole had effects on the structure of the 30th Medical Brigade. In October 2006, the 67th Combat Support Hospital was inactivated. The 93rd and 100th Medical Battalions were also inactivated. In October 2008, the 30th Medical Brigade was reorganized and redesignated as the 30th Medical Command (Deployment Support) and reassigned from V Corps to US Army Europe.