The 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC) is a theater level Army air and missile defense multi-component organization with a worldwide, 72-hour deployment mission. 32d AAMDC consists of four brigades, 11th ADA, 31st ADA, 69th ADA and 108th ADA; all four stand ready to accomplish any mission - anywhere, anytime in support of the regional combatant commander.
The 32d AAMDC is the Army Forces and Joint Forces Land Component Commanders' (ARFOR / JFLCC) organization that performs critical theater air and missile defense planning, integration, coordination, and execution functions. The 32d AAMDC coordinates and integrates the four operational elements (or pillars) of theater missile defense (TMD): passive defense, active defense, attack operations, and battle management/command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (BM/C4I) to protect contingency, forward deployed, and reinforcing forces, as well as designated theater strategic assets. The 32d AAMDC commands echelon above corps (EAC) ADA brigades and other assigned forces.
The 32d AAMDC is based at FT Bliss, Texas and falls within the authority and under the operational control of U. S. Forces Command (FORSCOM). Current Army authorization documents provide for three AAMDC's (two Active/Reserve Component, and one fully Reserve Component).
Commander
BG David F. Stewart
Brigadier General David Stewart serves as the Commanding General of 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
Most recently, he served as the as the Deputy Commanding General
for Operations at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense
Command.
BG Stewart graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia in
1991 and was commissioned in the Air Defense Artillery branch. His
key assignments include: Launcher, Maintenance, and Fire Control
Platoon Leader and a Battalion Tactics Trainer and Evaluator in the 6th Battalion, 43d Air Defense Artillery in Ansbach, Germany with a deployment to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Falcon; Instructor at the Officer Basic Course, Fort Bliss, Texas; Commander, Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 43d Air Defense Artillery in Korea; Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters
Battery, 1st Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery (THAAD); Small Group Instructor for the Air Defense Artillery Officer Advanced Course; Assignment Officer and Black-book/ARSTAF Account Manager, U.S. Army Personnel Command in Alexandria, Virginia; Battalion Operations Officer and Executive Officer, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery in Ansbach, Germany; Patriot/MEADS Staff Synchronization Officer, Air, Missile & Space Division Executive Officer, and Assistance Executive Officer for the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, Pentagon; Commander, U.S Army Mission Support Battalion, Fort Knox, Kentucky; Branch Chief, Air Defense Artillery and Public Affairs, Enlisted Personnel Management
Division, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky; Commander, U.S Army 2nd Recruiting Brigade, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama; Chief of Staff, United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Jerusalem; Assistant Commandant, Air Defense Artillery School. Chief of Staff for U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
BG Stewart’s military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, five awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, four awards of the Army Commendation Medal, two awards of the Army Achievement Medal, U.S. Army Parachute Badge, U.S. Army Recruiter Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.
BG Stewart’s military education includes the Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses; Australian Command and General Staff College; and U.S. Army War College. He holds master's degrees in strategic studies from both Canberra University in Australia and the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Command Sergeant Major
CSM Raymond J. Belk
Command Sergeant Major Raymond J. Belk enlisted in the United States Army on Aug. 29, 1997. He completed Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Bliss, Texas, where he was awarded the MOS of 14T (Patriot Missile Crew Member).
His assignments include: 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Osan, Korea; 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bliss, Texas; United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Fort Bliss, Texas; 1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bliss, Texas; 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Fort Bliss, Texas; 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Okinawa, Japan; 2nd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bliss, Texas; Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Fort Bliss, Texas; 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Ansbach, Germany; and 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas.
He has served in every leadership position that includes Brigade Command Sergeant Major; Battalion Command Sergeant Major; Battalion Operations Sergeant Major; HHB First Sergeant; Patriot Battery First Sergeant; Operations Noncommissioned Officer; Platoon Sergeant; Noncommissioned Officer Instructor (PLDC); Launcher Section Sergeant; and Assistant Launcher Section Sergeant. His deployments and operations include: “Operation Forward Presence,” “Operation Enduring Freedom,” “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” and “Operation Spartan Shield.”
His awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (7th Award), Army Commendation Medal (6th Award), Army Achievement Medal (3rd Award), Good Conduct Medal (7th Award), National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal (2 Campaign Stars), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Medal (Numeral 5), Overseas Service Ribbon (5 Tours), Army Service Ribbon, Drivers Badge (W), Air Assault Badge, and the German Armed Forces Marksmanship Badge (Bronze), Joint Meritorious Unit Award and the Army Meritorious Unit Award.
He is a member of the Honorable Order of St. Barbara and the Prestigious Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.
His military education includes the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (Class 67), First Sergeant Course, Master Resiliency Trainers Course, Battle Staff Course, Advanced Noncommissioned Officers Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officers Course, Primary Leadership Development Course, Unit Victim Advocate Course, Instructor Training Course, Small Group Instructor Training Course, Equal Opportunity Representative Course, Air Assault School, and the Rappel Master Course.
History The 32d AAMDC traces its lineage to January 1918 and the formation of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 32d Artillery Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps (at Key West Barracks, FL) under the command of BG William C. Davis. Just nine months after activation, the brigade sailed to France to fight in World War I as a member of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). The unit arrived in Europe without equipment and weapons and had to borrow 75mm anti-aircraft guns from the French to take into combat. The brigade distinguished itself in combat during the Battle of St. Mihiel Salient, the first AEF operation. The brigade continued to distinguish itself by providing supporting fires during the advance from the Meuse River to the Argonne Forest, the final offensive of WWI. After the war, the brigade spent a short period on occupation duty in France until it was ordered to return home. In January 1919, the brigade demobilized at Camp A. P. Hill, VA. The 32d Artillery Brigade was reconstituted into the Regular Army as an inactive unit in October 1927.
In 1942, the 32d Artillery Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps was reactivated as a Regular Army unit at Fort Bliss, Texas, to participate in World War II. In August 1943, it deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations where it was re-designated the 32d Anti-Aircraft Artillery Command. It later served as the part of the Sixth U.S. Army, fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea. In October 1944, the brigade participated in the landing on Leyte in the Philippines going ashore just one hour after the first assault. During the Philippine Campaign, the 32d is credited with the destruction of more than 350 aircraft and damaging 129 more. It was estimated that anti-aircraft fire during the Leyte operations caused the loss of more than 300 Japanese pilots, 600 Japanese crew members and 425 Japanese paratroopers. For its efforts in the Leyte Campaign, the 32d Coast Artillery Brigade was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. During the post-war occupation of the Philippines, the 32d trained Filipino scouts until its deactivation in May 1947.
In February 1951, the unit was reactivated at Mildenhall, England as the 32d Anti-Aircraft Brigade to defend U.S. Air Force bases from air attack. In June 1957, the brigade deployed from England to Kaiserslautern, Federal Republic of Germany. The following year it was re-designated Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 32d Artillery Brigade. The unit was initially equipped with 75mm and 90mm anti-aircraft guns but acquired the Nike Hercules Missile System in 1960 and the Hawk Missile System in 1961. In May 1961, the 32d was re-designated as the 32d Army Air Defense Command. Subordinate to the 32d AADCOM were the 10th, 69th, 94th and 108th ADA brigades, making it the largest air defense unit in the U.S. Army. As part of USAREUR and Seventh U.S. Army, it maintained a constant watch over West Germany in support of NATO. In November 1975, Headquarters Battery, 32d AADCOM moved from Kapaun Barracks in Kaiserslautern to Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne in Darmstadt, Germany. In 1985, the Army formulated the Air-Land Battle Doctrine to prepare for what seemed to be and inevitable clash with the Warsaw Pact forces. At that time, the 32d AADCOM Commander, MG Victor J. Hugo, stated "The end result of all these doctrinal and hardware improvements (Patriot and Hawk modifications), will be a Theater Army Air Defense Command that is leaner, prouder, more skilled and more capable to face the threat of 1990 and beyond." The 32d AADCOM's Cold War mission culminated with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unit was inactivated on March 21, 1995 in Darmstadt, Germany. In August 1996, to meet the growing theater ballistic missile threat, the Chief of Staff of the Army directed the activation of a provisional command that became the foundation of the Army Air and Missile Defense Command and directed the AAMDC to forego the normal force development process and activate as a multi-component unit with both Regular Army and Army National Guard Soldiers. The provisional AAMDC was deployed on short notice to Southwest Asia in February 1998, in support of Operation Southern Watch/Desert Thunder.
On October 16 1998, the 32d AAMDC was officially activated as the Army's first multi-component command, with two subordinate Echelon Above Corps Brigades, 11th and 35th ADA brigades. The 11th ADA Bde was composed of two active component Patriot battalions, 3-43 ADA and 5-52 ADA, the 286th Signal Company, and two Army National Guard Avenger battalions, 1-265 ADA and 2-174 ADA. The 35th ADA Bde was composed of two active component Patriot battalions, 1-43 ADA (forward deployed in Korea) and 2-1 ADA, one Army National Guard Patriot battalion, 1-203 ADA, and two Army National Guard Avenger battalions, 2-263 ADA and 2-265 ADA.
In November 1998, the 32d AAMDC deployed to Kuwait to conduct contingency planning and coordination in support of CTF-Kuwait during Operation Desert Thunder II/Southern Watch. From December 1998 to January 1999, the unit remained in Kuwait to support Operation Desert Fox.
In late 2001, elements of the 32d AAMDC deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During Operation Iraqi Freedom the 32d AAMDC deployed more than 80% of the Patriot force including over 6500 Soldiers to 7 different countries, executed 9 for 9 confirmed warhead kills, executed the largest ADA movement by air and proved without a doubt the effective lethality of the Patriot system. Thousands of coalition and civilian lives were saved through the direct efforts of the 32d AAMDC and its subordinate units. Iraqi freedom's successes were the culmination of thousands of man-hours spent in planning and training through multiple worldwide exercises over the past six years. As part of the Army's Transformation Plan, the 32d AAMDC transitioned from a multi-component force to a completely active component command on September 15, 2004. On this same day, the 35th ADA Bde was detached from the 32d AAMDC and re-assigned as an organic component of the 8th U.S. Army in Korea. On April 16, 2007, the 32d AAMDC assumed training and readiness oversight for all CONUS-based active duty ADA brigades, which include the 11th, 31st, 69th, and 108th ADA brigades.
On October 15, 2008, the 32d AAMDC deployed with elements of the headquarters, the 11th ADA Bde and two Patriot battalions to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and currently has more than 2000 Soldiers deployed worldwide. Today, the 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command is trained, vigilant and always ready to rapidly deploy anytime, anywhere to conduct joint and combined air and missile defense operations in support of the war fighting combatant commander.
