United States Army Materiel Command#Major subordinate commands

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.{{Cite web |title=History 1962-1975 |url=https://www.amc.army.mil/Organization/History/Overview/1962-1975/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250304221015/https://www.amc.army.mil/Organization/History/Overview/1962-1975/ |archive-date=2025-03-04 |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=www.amc.army.mil |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Cocke |first=Karl E. |last2=Bell |first2=William G. |last3=Corr |first3=John B. |last4=Danysh |first4=Romana M. |last5=Hermes |first5=Walter G. |last6=Hewes, Jr. |first6=James E. |last7=Kelly III |first7=Thomas E. |last8=Mossman |first8=B. C. |last9= |first9= |last10= |first10= |display-authors=5 |date=1977 |title=FY 76 - Dept. of the Army Historical Summary (DAHSUM) |url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1976/ch07.htm#b1 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521212238/http://www.history.army.mil/books/DAHSUM/1976/ch07.htm#b1 |archive-date=21 May 2008 |access-date=22 April 2025 |website=history.army.mil |publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History, Department of the Army |pages=71–73 |issn= |lccn= |id= |quote=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. The Army staff has been monitoring these problem areas ever since. Transferring responsibility for procurement and production from the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics to a new Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition was a helpful step. Another was a parallel reorganization of AMC field commands and AMC headquarters, which on 1 January 1976 became the Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM). Materiel development and materiel readiness are now the two major organizational elements within the command. The former is responsible for research and development, producer tests and evaluation, and initial procurement of weapons and supporting equipment. The latter is responsible for buying, fielding, and maintaining these systems. (___enter___); Nearly every proposed reorganization of the Army since World War II has stressed the necessity of decentralizing and shifting operations to the field, a proposal that headquarters staffs have generally resisted. The DARCOM reorganization is one more attempt to decentralize operations, partly by reducing the headquarters staff. As noted earlier, the command will also split the commodity commands into separate research and development and materiel readiness commands. The reorganization will involve the transfer of some functions among various installations. (___enter___); Accordingly, during fiscal year 1976 the Tank-Automotive Command became the Tank-Automotive Research and Development Command and the Tank-Automotive Materiel Readiness Command. The Missile and the Armaments Commands were similarly divided. Realignment of the Electronics, Aviation, and Troop Transport Commands may also take place. (___enter___); One of the Army Materiel Command’s major subcommands since its creation was the Test and Evaluation Command. Assigned to it were development test facilities of the former technical services and operational test boards of the combat arms. Placing the latter under a predominantly development command created controversy within the Army. The Materiel Acquisition Review Committee’s testing team recommended transferring these operational test boards from the Materiel Command to the Training and Doctrine Command. The Department of the Army approved the recommendation on 1 July 1975 and directed the transfer of five operational test boards: the Air Defense Board at Fort Bliss, Texas; the Airborne, Communications, and Electronics Board at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; the Armor and Engineer Board at Fort Knox, Kentucky; the Field Artillery Board at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and the Infantry Board at Fort Benning, Georgia. Later the Aviation Board at Fort Rucker, Alabama, was transferred to the Training and Doctrine Command. At the same installation the Materiel Development and Readiness Command created an Aviation Development Test Activity. (___enter___); Since the Materiel Development and Readiness Command is principally responsible for producing arms sold abroad, the creation of the Coordinator for Army Security Assistance led to changes in the command’s organization. In November 1975 the International Logistics Center at New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, the field agency responsible for direction of these operations in the major commodity commands, was placed under an International Logistics Command. Brig. Gen. Tom H. Brain, the director of International Logistics, DARCOM headquarters, now wears a second hat and directs the activities of the International Logistics Center.}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/544.html|title=Records of the United States Army Materiel Command|date=15 August 2016|website=archives.gov|access-date=7 April 2018}}{{Cite web |title=History Overview - A New Name, A New Era — 1976-1989 |url=https://www.amc.army.mil/Organization/History/Overview/1976-1989/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211101328/https://www.amc.army.mil/Organization/History/Overview/1976-1989/ |archive-date=11 December 2017 |access-date=9 April 2025 |website=amc.army.mil |publisher=Army Materiel Command |quote=AMC was designated DARCOM on Jan. 23, 1976, to symbolize the change to a more corporate structure."; –– " The DARCOM Commander, Gen. John Deane best summed up this effort: "We wanted to change our philosophy of how we do business and also change the attitude of the people in the command. We wanted to emphasize that readiness is a part of our business." '; –– "As part of this reorganization, the commodity commands formerly managed by AMC were broken into separate commands for research and development and readiness."; ... –– "On Aug. 1, 1984, it was announced that DARCOM had shortened its name back to the Army Materiel Command or AMC to "remove a perceived boundary between development and logistics support implied in the DARCOM name" and because the brevity and clarity of the name AMC "will be better understood by allies and the general public." Interestingly, most of the commodity commands that had been broken apart when DARCOM was created had already been put back together.}} 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.

{{Cite web |last=Beynon |first=Steve |date=2024-12-17 |title=Army Secretary Fires 4-Star General Who Meddled in Promotion of Unfit Subordinate |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/12/10/army-secretary-fires-4-star-general-who-meddled-promotion-of-unfit-0 |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Military.com |language=en}}

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.{{cite web |title=AMC in the Seventies: a decade of celebration, change |url=https://www.army.mil/article/86017/amc_in_the_seventies_a_decade_of_celebration_change |access-date=7 April 2018 |website=army.mil}} AMC was located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia between 2003 and 2005 before being relocated to Alabama by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

File:2023 U.S. Army Materiel Command Change of Command (52752335398).jpg

• 20px United States Army Contracting Command
• 20px United States Army Sustainment Command
• 20px United States Army Aviation and Missile Command
• 20px United States Army Communications-Electronics Command,[https://www.army.mil/article/217819/staying_ahead_of_modernization_requirements_ensuring_readiness Alexandria Soller, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) (February 26, 2019) Staying ahead of modernization requirements, ensuring readiness]
• 20px United States Army Chemical Materials Activity
• 20px Joint Munitions Command[https://www.army.mil/article/211434/jmc_commander_promoted_to_brigadier_general Tony Lopez (AMC) (September 21, 2018) JMC Commander promoted to Brigadier General][https://www.army.mil/article/221743/ensuring_readiness_for_the_strategic_support_area_munitions_readiness Elizabeth Behring (AMC) (May 10, 2019) Ensuring Readiness for the Strategic Support Area: Munitions Readiness]
• 20px United States Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command[https://www.army.mil/article/222611/gen_perna_gets_update_on_soldier_and_ground_systems_readiness_efforts TACOM Public Affairs (May 31, 2019) Gen. Perna gets update on Soldier and ground systems readiness efforts]
• 20px United States Army Security Assistance Command
• 20px United States Army Medical Logistics Command
• 20px United States Army Financial Management Command, formerly a direct reporting unit of the Department of the Army, is now subordinate to AMC, effective 1 Oct. 2019[https://www.usafmcom.army.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2003787/bennett-takes-command-of-realigned-usafmcom/ Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner, U.S. Army Financial Management Command (Oct. 31, 2019) Bennett takes command of realigned USAFMCOM]
• [https://www.usafmcom.army.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1998352/bennett-to-command-usafmcom/ Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner, U.S. Army Financial Management Command (Oct. 23, 2019) Bennett to command USAFMCOM ]
• 25px United States Army Installation Management Command[https://www.army.mil/article/217292/installation_management_command_to_realign_under_army_materiel_command Army News Service (11 Feb 2019) Installation Management Command to realign under Army Materiel Command][https://www.army.mil/article/218338/us_army_garrison_japan_soldiers_don_army_materiel_command_patch Wendy Brown, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs (March 11, 2019) U.S. Army Garrison Japan Soldiers don Army Materiel Command patch]
• 25px Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command
• See also: United States Army Medical Materiel Agency (a Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC))

• Combat Capabilities Development Command or CCDC (formerly United States Army Research, Development and Engineering Command) completed its transfer to United States Army Futures Command on 3 February 2019, which operates research and development engineering centers; Army Research Laboratories supports the centers' activities.
• U.S. Army Industrial Operations Command, included Anniston Munitions Center{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.jmc.army.mil/Docs/History/FY98.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217140525/http://www.jmc.army.mil/Docs/History/FY98.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 February 2013 |access-date=2025-03-19}}

• Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives

Comparable organizations

U.S. Armed Forces systems commands

• Marine Corps Systems Command
• United States Navy systems commands
• Naval Sea Systems Command
• Naval Air Systems Command
• Naval Information Warfare Systems Command
• Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command
• Naval Supply Systems Command
• Air Force Materiel Command
• Space Systems Command

{{reflist}}

• {{cite web|last=Cotton |first=Megan |title=Ensuring Readiness for Strategic Support: Strategic Power Projection |url=https://www.army.mil/article/222299/ensuring_readiness_for_strategic_support_strategic_power_projection |publisher=United States Army |date=June 6, 2019}}

• {{USGovernment|url=http://www.army.mil/amc|agency=United States Army}}
• {{USGovernment|url=http://www.army.mil/article/56593/BRAC_2005_Recommended_Relocation_of_U_S__Army_Materiel_Command/|agency=United States Army}}

• {{official website|https://www.amc.army.mil/}}
• {{Commons category-inline|United States Army Materiel Command}}

{{US Army navbox}}

{{Defence Materiel Procurement Agencies}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1962 establishments in Virginia

Category:Military units and formations established in 1962