It might be hard to conceive now, but for nearly four decades during the Cold War era there were 250,000 troops billeted in West Germany alone and some 300,00 in all of Europe. In 1974, the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center (MILPERCENEUR) was created to integrate the consequential personnel and administration duties—including but not limited to personnel information systems, postal services, and recreational facilities and services—into one entity.
On October 20, 1978, MILPERCENEUR was replaced by 1st Personnel Command. For the next 20 years, the Command was responsible for the handling of all personnel management and administration duties—a massive undertaking which it performed efficiently and with great dedication. Along the way, it earned Campaign Participation Credit for its role in the Global War on Terror.
With subsequent shifts in force deployment to more volatile regions around the globe, the need for 1st Personnel Command was considerably reduced, and in June, 2008 it was disbanded and its missions taken over by the 21s Theater Sustainment Command.
1st Personnel Command’s CSIB features the colors blue, white, and red. Besides indicating loyalty and firmness, dark blue is the “national” color per General Regulations of the Army of 1825. White symbolizes knowledge and training, while scarlet represents zeal and courage. The Arabic numeral “1” serves a dual purpose: it indicates the numerical designation of the Command and also represents the aspirations of unsurpassed excellence in performance of duty that was held by Command personnel.
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1st Personnel Command Patch (SSI)
1st Personnel Command Unit Crest (DUI)