When considering all the different materials the Army uses, a person may wonder how they are able to keep track of everything. Whether it is firearms or toilet paper, everything the Army utilizes first must pass through Army Material Command.
In today’s post, we will provide an overview of the Army Material Command.
Headquarters
Army Material Command has its main headquarters at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Operations of Army Material Command are conducted all over the world. They control the stocking of anything and everything the Army could possibly use.
Employees
Army Material Command is one of the largest, if not the largest command operations in the Army. They employee nearly 70,000 people of both military and civilian placements. The command has a plethora of research and development centers where they are always testing new equipment to make our Soldiers safer.
Army Material Command controls the outsourcing of manufacturing, along with the sales of arms and equipment to other countries.
Personally, I had my experience understanding the inner workings of Army Material Command as a civilian. Before I moved to Puerto Rico, I worked at Nike in the St. Louis area. I assumed I would be manufacturing tennis shoes, which I did, but I also found myself on what was called the “top secret” line.
We were working hand-in-hand with a company called Skydex who answered to Army Material Command.
Nike and Skydex are not the only companies that Army Material Command utilizes. They have many subcontractors, along with their own system of research and development.
All the arms and ammo must first come through Army Material Command, but so does things such as parts for vehicles, food supplies, and all the clothing the Army wears. Army Material Command also controls chemical and biological weapons. If you can name anything the Army possibly uses, odds are it must first come through Army Material Command. As a matter of fact, Army Material Command’s motto is:
“If a soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, communicates with it, or eats it—AMC provides it.”
Lower Commands
The Army Material Command has a variety of subordinate commands beneath it. They consist of:
Army Contracting Command. This command has soldiers who attain goods and services by various means.
Army Security Assistance Command. This command is the backbone of providing a means to attain security equipment and resources.
Army Sustainment Command. This is the logistics control command.
Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command. This command manages such things as armament like tanks and personnel carriers.
Army Aviation and Missile Command. Just as it states, this command deals with missiles and helicopters, along with drones.
Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. This command is the backbone of research and development of technological driven arms and safety devices.
Army Communications and Electronics Command. This command is the key to all forms of electronic communications.
Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. They are responsible for shipping on and off land.
Army Chemical Materials Command. This command controls all forms of chemicals.
Joint Munitions Command. This command controls the arsenals and all munitions release and procurement.
Final Thoughts
When the Ebola outbreak became a huge issue, Army Material Command responded immediately. Personnel were dispatched to Africa to aid in logistics and providing the materials needed to help stop the spread of the deadly disease.
Army Material Command is a huge employer of both Soldiers and civilians. If you have the proper qualifications, you may be eligible for employment at an Army Material Command facility.
We would love to hear from you if you have experience with Army Material Command. Please provide your comments below. Thank you for visiting and have a great day.
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Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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