United States Army Materiel Command

The U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) is the primary provider of materiel to the United States Army. The command's mission includes the management of installations, as well as maintenance and parts distribution.

AMC operates depots; arsenals; ammunition plants; and other facilities, and maintains the Army's prepositioned stocks, both on land and afloat.

The command is also the Department of Defense Executive Agent for the chemical weapons stockpile and for conventional ammunition.

AMC is responsible for the business of selling United States Army equipment and services to allies of the United States and negotiates and implements agreements for co-production of U.S. weapons systems by other states.

History

AMC was established on 8 May 1962, and later was activated on 1 August of that year as a major field command of the U.S. Army. Prior to its creation, Lt. Gen. Frank S. Besson, Jr. directed a Department of the Army study to be conducted, of which recommended the creation of a "materiel development and logistics command". He would serve as the AMC's first commander.

As part of the formation of AMC, various field activities and installations were transferred into it. Those field activities and installations came primarily from six of the technical services: Chief Chemical Officer, Chief of Engineers, Chief of Ordnance (the largest single source of AMC installations), the Quartermaster General, Chief Signal Officer, and the Chief of Transportation. The seventh technical service, the Surgeon General, provided one medical depot. Several other installations and activities came from Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA) Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, the Continental Army Command, and the Chief of Research and Development.

Since its creation in 1962 the Army Materiel Command (AMC) underwent constant reorganizations and realignments in its headquarters and numerous field commands. These conditions reflected a more fundamental problem, chronic dissatisfaction with the Army’s entire system for developing and fielding new weapons and equipment. A special Army Materiel Acquisition Review Committee on 1 April 1974 recommended sweeping organizational and management reforms.

On 23 January 1976, AMC was redesignated the U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM). DARCOM commander Gen. John R. Deane Jr. best summed up the renaming's purpose, which was "to emphasize that readiness is a part of our business."

Materiel development and materiel readiness newly became the two major organizational elements within the command. The former, materiel development, is responsible for research and development, producer tests and evaluation, and initial procurement of weapons and supporting equipment. The latter, materiel readiness, is responsible for buying, fielding, and maintaining these systems.

As part of this reorganization, the commands formerly managed by AMC were broken into separate commands for research and development, and readiness. Accordingly, during fiscal year 1976 the Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) became the Tank-Automotive Research and Development Command and the Tank-Automotive Materiel Readiness Command. The Missile and the Armaments Commands were similarly divided.

On 1 August 1984, DARCOM was redesignated as AMC. The reason for the change was to "remove a perceived boundary between development and logistics support implied in the DARCOM name". Additionally, it was said that the conciseness and clarity of the name AMC "[would] be better understood by allies and the general public."

In December 2024, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, "in a dramatic and rare move," dismissed General Charles R. Hamilton, the AMC commanding general, following an Army investigation that concluded he had improperly intervened to arrange a battalion command position for a female lieutenant colonel he favored.

Locations

AMC is currently headquartered at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and has operations in approximately 149 locations worldwide including more than 49 American states and 50 countries. AMC employs upwards of 70,000 military and civilian employees. From 1973 to 2003, AMC was headquartered in a building at 5001 Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Virginia, and prior to 1973, it was headquartered at what is now Reagan National Airport. AMC was located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia between 2003 and 2005 before being relocated to Alabama by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

Commanders

General Charles R. Hamilton assumes command of AMC from General Edward M. Daly on 16 March 2023.

Major subordinate commands

Formerly subordinate commands

Other commands

See also

Comparable organizations U.S. Armed Forces systems commands

Notes

References

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