21st Theater Sustainment Command

21st Theater Sustainment Command
21st Theater Sustainment Command Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Active	1965–present
Country	United States
Branch	U.S. Army
Part of	US Army Europe
Garrison/HQ	Kaiserslautern, Germany
Nickname(s)	21st TSC
Motto(s)	First In Support
Engagements	Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Duane Gamble

The 21st Theater Sustainment Command (21st TSC) provides theater sustainment throughout EUCOM and AFRICOM Areas of Responsibility in support of USAREUR and 7th Army. On order, deploys to support theater opening, distribution, and Reception, Staging, Onward Movement & enable Integration (RSO&I) functions. Be prepared to support Joint and Coalition forces.

The heritage of 21st Theater Sustainment Command began on 23 June 1965 with the activation of the 1st Support Brigade. The 21st TSC originated as a maintenance support headquarters under Seventh Army Support Command, the brigade's first home was Taylor Barracks, Mannheim, Germany.

After the United States military withdrawal from France in 1967 and the organization of the U.S. Theater Army Support Command, Europe, informally known as TASCOM, the brigade became the rear-area counterpart of the newly formed corps support commands. Assigned to TASCOM in 1969, 1st Support Brigade was responsible for Prepositioning of Materiel Configured to Unit Sets (POMCUS) and provided combat service support for U.S. units in the area west of the Rhein River.

In 1974, TASCOM was merged with Headquarters, United States Army Europe, and the missions of 1st Support Brigade were expanded to include base operations support for eight military communities as well as the management of regional area support. The brigade was upgraded to a general officer command and the headquarters moved to Panzer Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany.

By mid-1976 the 1st Support Brigade's personnel strength was approximately 16,000 – the largest brigade in the U.S. Army. Consequently, the Department of the Army approved the elevation of the commander's position to major general and on 19 August 1976 the brigade was re-designated 21st Support Command. The command came to include the 47th Area Support Group with a major depot located at RAF Burtonwood, Lancashire, in the United Kingdom, stockpiling POMCUS equipment. Other units included Combat Equipment Group Europe, 29th Area Support Group, and 60th Ordnance Group.