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Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command
Formerly:Aviation and Missile Command (1997)
Sparkman Center Redstone Arsenal
Headquarters AMCOM at Redstone Arsenal
Country United States
Branch Army Materiel Command (AMC)
Size 7,700 civilian, 250 military, TBD contractors[1]
Garrison/HQ

Redstone Arsenal
Other military installations
Corpus Christi Army Depot
Letterkenny Army Depot

Fort Rucker Army Aviation Center
Commanders
Current
commander
Major General JAMES E. ROGERS (September, 2010)
Notable
commanders
General John Medaris (AOMC, 1958)
Insignia
Distinctive Unit Insignia US Army 50953 AMCOM Logo

The United States Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) is primarily responsible for life cycle management of army missile, helicopter, unmanned ground vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle weapon systems. The central part of AMCOM's job involves acquisition and sustainment support for aviation and missile systems throughout their life cycle. The command is headquartered at Redstone Arsenal by Huntsville, Alabama.

AMCOM works closely with the Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) that operates simulation facilities to evaluate missile components, such as seekers, in a variety of flights and countermeasures environments. AMCOM also has access to several wind tunnels to test full-size helicopters, a vertical motion simulator for flight control evaluation and a crash-testing tower used to improve safety.

AMCOM's Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment Activity provides worldwide command and control over a broad metrology and calibration program. AMCOM is also the leader in foreign military sales, accounting for over 50 percent of total army sales to Allied forces and friendly foreign nations.[1] AMCOM's main organizations are organized into "centers":

  • Acquisition Center – responsible for contracting support.
  • Integrated Material Management Center – responsible for logistics support.

Chronology[]

The U.S. Army Missile Command was formally established on 23 May 1962[Clarification needed] at Redstone Arsenal to manage the army's missile systems.

  • 1 June 1949: The Chief of Ordnance officially activates the arsenal as the site of the Ordnance Rocket Center.
  • 28 October 1949: The Secretary of the Army approves the transfer of the Ordnance Research and Development Division Sub-Office (Rocket) at Fort Bliss, Texas, to Redstone Arsenal as the Ordnance Guided Missile Center.[2]
  • March, 1958: Organizations placed under the new Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) include the ABMA, Redstone Arsenal, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, White Sands Proving Grounds and the Army Rocket and Guided Missile Agency (ARGMA)[3]
  • 1958: ABMA's scientific and engineering staff (Wernher von Braun et al.) transferred to the newly created NASA Marshall Space Flight Center at the southern half of Redstone Arsenal
  • 23 May 1963:[Clarification needed] U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) officially established;, fully staffed and operational on 1 August 1963.
  • 28 February 1964: The U.S. Army Aviation and Surface Material Command redesignated as the U.S. Army Aviation Materiel Command (AVCOM).
  • 23 September 1968: AVCOM redesignated the U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command (AVSCOM).
  • 1 July 1977: AVSCOM discontinued and its readiness mission combined with that of the U.S. Army Troop Support Command (TROSCOM) to form the U.S. Army Troop Support and Aviation Materiel Readiness Command (TSARCOM). AVSCOM's aviation research and development mission assigned to the newly established U.S. Army Aviation Research and Development Command (AVRADCOM).
  • 1 March 1984: AVSCOM reestablished and all missions and activities of AVRADCOM and the aviation related missions and activities of the Troop Support and Aviation Materiel Readiness Command transferred to AVSCOM.
  • 1 October 1992: Army Aviation and Troop Command established, consolidating the existing missions of AVSCOM and TROSCOM less those missions and organizations transferred to other commands.
  • 8 September 1995: Congress approves the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list, disestablishing ATCOM and transfers its mission and organizations to Redstone Arsenal to merge with the Army Missile Command to form AMCOM.
  • 17 July 1997: Army Aviation and Missile Command is provisionally established.
  • 1 October 1997: AMCOM formally established at Redstone Arsenal with the merger of the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) at Redstone Arsenal and the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM) at St. Louis, Missouri[1]
Army nasa transfer 02

1958 NASA transfer ceremony

AMCOM activation ceremony July 1997

17 July 1997: AMCOM activation ceremony.

Current weapons systems[]

Shadow-200

RQ-7 Shadow UAV

Referencesand notes[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at United States Army Aviation and Missile Command and the edit history here.
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