By JEAN DUBIEL
Guardian staff writer
FORT POLK, La. — U.S. Army Garrison Soldiers assigned to Fort Polk changed their unit patches from Installation Management Command to Army Materiel Command in a ceremony held March 8 outside of the Fort Polk Headquarters at bldg 350.
IMCOM was formally acknowledged as a major subordinate command of AMC the same day at an assumption of authority ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
The transition was effective March 1.
“The Army is implementing aggressive reforms to free resources for readiness and modernization efforts and improve overall efficiency,” said Brig. Gen. Omar Jones, the Army’s chief of public affairs. “This transition establishes unity of command and effort on our installations, improves the readiness of our Soldiers and formations, and strengthens the well-being of our Soldiers, civilians and Families.”
Headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, IMCOM was created in 2002 to integrate and deliver base support to enable readiness for a globally responsive Army. IMCOM’s 50,000-strong workforce remains in place, and no positions will be physically relocated or eliminated during the transition.
AMC, a four-star command, performs installation support for depots, ammunition plants and other facilities. It provides service functions from management of installation power-projection platforms to installation contracting services.
Gen. Gus Perna is the commanding general of Army Materiel Command, based at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
Lt. Gen. Bradley A. Becker, IMCOM commanding general, continues to serve from Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
The realignment consolidates base operations and support functions, and leverages existing Army expertise in logistics, sustainment and services.
The move is one of several ongoing management and headquarters reforms to ensure the Army is efficient and prioritizes resources to readiness and modernization — the service’s top priorities.
Perna said Army installations play a vital role in establishing military might and sustaining troops, and praised IMCOM professionals for their work.
“The realm of responsibility you have is incredible,” Perna said. “We are very grateful for what you have done.”
Becker thanked AMC leaders for their recent support.
“There is real value in having a higher headquarters,” Becker said. “We think alike and we share a culture of service.”
IMCOM directorates will initially remain functionally aligned with their supported Army commands and Army service component commands. AMC and IMCOM leadership will conduct an assessment to ensure all IMCOM directorates are best aligned to effectively support senior commanders.
Realignment under one command, along with continued oversight by the Army secretary, will also increase advocacy within the Army for installation requirements, said Jones.
There are no impacts expected from the change at Fort Polk, according to Col. Jarrett Thomas II, Fort Polk’s garrison commander.
“The patch ceremony symbolizes our transition to the AMC,” said Thomas. “You won’t see any change in the services we provide. We will continue to deliver outstanding customer service to our Soldiers, Families, civilians and contractors.”