United States Army Materiel Command

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U.S. Army Materiel Command
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AMC shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1962–present
CountryFile:Flag of the United States.svg United States
BranchFile:Flag of the United States Army.svg United States Army
RoleDevelops, maintains, and supports materiel capabilities for the Army[1]
SizeMore than 60,000 military and civilians
Part ofFile:US Army Headquarters Seal.png United States Department of the Army
Garrison/HQRedstone Arsenal, Alabama
MottoTemplate:Pluralize from textIf a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, communicates with it, or eats it – AMC provides it.
MarchArsenal for the Brave[2]
WebsiteAMC website
army.mil Profile
Commanders
Current
commander		LTG Christopher Mohan
Deputy Commanding GeneralLTG Gavin A. Lawrence
Command Sergeant MajorCSM Jacinto Garza
Notable
commanders		Frank S. Besson, Jr.
Ferdinand J. Chesarek
Insignia
Distinctive unit insigniaFile:US Army Materiel Command DUI.png

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The United States Army Materiel Command (AMC) is the primary provider of materiel to the United States Army via its contracting support brigades.[3]

AMC operates depots; arsenals; ammunition plants; and other facilities, and maintains the Army's prepositioned stocks, both on land and afloat.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. The command is also the Department of Defense Executive Agent for conventional ammunition and the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile.

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 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. Most of those field activities and installations came from six of the technical services, including: the Chief Chemical Officer, Chief of Engineers, Chief of Ordnance (the single largest source of AMC installations), the Quartermaster General, Chief Signal Officer, and the Chief of Transportation.[4] The seventh technical service, the Surgeon General, provided one medical depot. Several other installations and activities came from Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, the Continental Army Command (CONARC), and the Chief of Research and Development.

Since its creation in 1962, AMC underwent constant reorganizations in its headquarters and 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.[5]

File:DARCOM emblem.jpg
Materiel Development and Readiness Command emblem, 1976–84

On 23 January 1976, AMC was renamed to 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."[6][7]

Both "materiel development" and "materiel readiness" represented two major organizational elements within the command. The former, materiel development, was responsible for research and development, producer tests and evaluation, and initial procurement of weapons and equipment. The latter, materiel readiness, was responsible for buying, fielding, and maintaining those systems.[5]

As part of this reorganization, commands managed by AMC were broken into individual commands for research and development, and for readiness.[6][7] 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.[5]

Effective 1 August 1984, DARCOM was renamed back to 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."[7]

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.[8]

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 Alexandria, Virginia, and prior to 1973, it was headquartered at what is now Reagan National Airport.[9] AMC was located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, between 2003 and 2005 before being relocated to Alabama by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

List of commanding generals

File:2023 U.S. Army Materiel Command Change of Command (52752335398).jpg
Gen. Charles R. Hamilton assumes command of AMC from Gen. Edward M. Daly on 16 March 2023.
No. Commanding General[10] Term
Portrait Name Took office Left office Term length
As U.S. Army Materiel Command
1General
Frank S. Besson Jr.		2 April 196210 March 1969#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
2General
Ferdinand J. Chesarek		10 March 19691 November 1970#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
3General
Henry A. Miley Jr.		1 November 197012 February 1975#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
As U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command
4General
John R. Deane Jr.		12 February 19751 February 1977#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
5Lieutenant General
George Sammet Jr.[11]		1 February 19771 May 1977#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
6General
John R. Guthrie		1 May 19771 August 1981#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
7General
Donald R. Keith		1 August 198129 June 1984#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
As U.S. Army Materiel Command
8General
Richard H. Thompson		29 June 198413 April 1987#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
9General
Louis C. Wagner Jr.		13 April 198727 September 1989#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
10General
William G.T. Tuttle Jr.		27 September 198931 January 1992#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
11General
Jimmy D. Ross		31 January 199211 February 1994#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
12General
Leon E. Salomon		11 February 199427 March 1996#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
13General
Johnnie E. Wilson		27 March 199614 May 1999#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
14General
John G. Coburn		14 May 199930 October 2001#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
15General
Paul J. Kern		30 October 20015 November 2004#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
16General
Benjamin S. Griffin		5 November 200414 November 2008#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
17General
Ann E. Dunwoody		14 November 200828 June 2012#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
18General
Dennis L. Via		28 June 201230 September 2016#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
19General
Gustave F. Perna		30 September 20162 July 2020#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
20General
Edward M. Daly		2 July 202016 March 2023#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
21General
Charles R. Hamilton		16 March 202322 March 2024#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
-Lieutenant General
Christopher Mohan
Acting		22 March 202420 November 2025#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts
22Lieutenant General
Christopher Mohan		20 November 2025Incumbent#REDIRECT Template:Age in years and days nts

Organization

The U.S. Army Materiel Command oversees 10 major subordinate commands (MSC).[12][13][14][15]

Current

Major subordinate commands

Separate reporting activities

Former units

Major subordinate commands

Separate reporting activities

See also

Comparable organizations – Other U.S. Armed Forces systems commands

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."U.S. Army Materiel Command". Retrieved 22 May 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."U.S. Army Materiel Command Band". U.S. Army Materiel Command. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."U.S. Army Materiel Command Partnership Resource Guide 2015-2016". Faircount Media Group. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History 1962-1975". www.amc.army.mil. Archived from the original on 4 March 2025. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cocke, Karl E.; Bell, William G.; Corr, John B.; Danysh, Romana M.; Hermes, Walter G.; et al. (1977). "FY 76 - Dept. of the Army Historical Summary (DAHSUM)". history.army.mil. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Department of the Army. pp. 71–73. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2025. 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.
  6. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Records of the United States Army Materiel Command". archives.gov. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History Overview - A New Name, A New Era — 1976-1989". amc.army.mil. Army Materiel Command. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2025. 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.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beynon, Steve (17 December 2024). "Army Secretary Fires 4-Star General Who Meddled in Promotion of Unfit Subordinate". Military.com. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AMC in the Seventies: a decade of celebration, change". army.mil. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  10. ^ Army.mil – AMC Former Commanders
  11. ^ Note: Sammet was listed as commanding general of U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command despite his retirement 89 days later.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Major Subordinate Commands | Army Materiel Command". www.amc.army.mil. Archived from the original on 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  13. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AMC Organization Chart April 2026" (PDF). www.amc.army.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  14. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AMC Organization Chart 2024" (PDF). www.amc.army.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AMC Organization Chart 12 April 2019" (PDF). amc.army.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  16. ^ Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner, U.S. Army Financial Management Command (Oct. 31, 2019) Bennett takes command of realigned USAFMCOM
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History | IMCOM". home.army.mil/imcom. Archived from the original on 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026. The Secretary of the Army made the decision to realign IMCOM to Army Materiel Command as a Major Subordinate Command with an effective date of 1 March 2019.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."U.S. Army Materiel Command Resource Guide 2023" (PDF). www.amc.army.mil. pp. 98–99 / pdf p. 52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2026. An U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) separate reporting activity, LDAC, formerly the Logistics Support Activity, refocused its mission ...
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A Brief History – U.S. Army Industrial Operations Command" (PDF). jmc.army.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Joint Munitions Command – A Concise History" (PDF). jmc.army.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025. In October 1995(,) the Army disestablished AMCCOM and DESCOM and established the U.S. Army Industrial Operations Command (IOC) headquartered at RIA [or Rock Island Arsenal]. The IOC consisted of the HQ, DESCOM mission, with the ammunition and industrial base management portions of HQ, AMCCOM. (...) The U.S. Army Industrial Operations Command (IOC) to the U.S. Army Operations Support Command (OSC) on 1 October 2000. IOC was disestablished on the same date.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."New organizations to be recognized during ceremony" (PDF). rdecom.army.mil. 29 September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sarantinos-Perrin, Argie (31 January 2019). "RDECOM transitions to Army Futures Command". www.army.mil. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Lovelace, C.J. (17 September 2024). "Army Medical Logistics Command marks five years". www.army.mil. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2025. AMLC headquarters was initially activated June 1, 2019 (...), and [a] formal activation ceremony followed on Sept. 17, 2019(.)
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thompson, Susan (23 April 2021). "CECOM to celebrate 40 Years". www.army.mil. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2025. The Army Medical Logistics Command [was] reassign[ed] to CECOM in 2020, with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Facts: Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Milestones". peoacwa.army.mil. 11 September 2025. Archived from the original on 25 September 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Chemical Materials Activity Fact Sheet" (PDF). cma.army.mil. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025. In July 2012, the Agency was redesignated from a major subordinate command to an AMC Separate Reporting Activity and renamed the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity.

References

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