Though it has undergone numerous re-designations over the 60-plus years of its existence, 1st Sustainment Command’s core mission has remained unchanged and can be summed up in one word: logistics.
Constituted on August 24, 1950 as HQ, 1st Logistical Command, the unit was activated in October of that year at Fort McPherson Georgia as a planning headquarters. After its deployment to France to supervise the setup of supply depots and area port operations in response to the Berlin Crisis of 1961, it returned stateside and was assigned to the III Corps at Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos) in Texas. April, 1965 saw it deployed to the Republic of Vietnam, where over the course of its five-year deployment it grew to 50,000 strong serving as the logistics command-and-control headquarters for all units participating in the conflict.
In 1972, 1st Logistical Command was re-designated 1st Corps Support Command—COSCOM—and reassigned to XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg. During the 34 years it operated as COSCOM, it deployed to Grenada, the Virgin Islands, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Iraq, carrying out both military support and humanitarian relief missions and earning six Meritorious Unit Commendations.
With its re-designation on April 16, 2006 as 1st Sustainment Command, it became the first theater command—the senior army logistics command in a theater—to exist in the active duty Army.
The red edge and blue center of the Combat Service Identification Badge of the 1st Sustainment Command symbolize the speed and efficiency the organization achieves in carrying out its mission of supply. A white arrow points to 1030 hours—a constant reminder that the unit always accomplishes its mission goals before the 11th hour. The Command's unit crest (Distinctive Unit Insignia) features its motto: "First."
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1st Theater Sustainment Command Patch (SSI)
1st Theater Sustainment Command Unit Crest (DUI)