USAREUR Units - 200th TAMMC

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Wholesale supply support to the United States Army, Europe has been provided on a continuous basis since World War II by one supply and maintenance type activity in Europe. This organization, changing periodically in title and structure during its twenty-nine year history, has fulfilled its dynamic mission.

Through 1962, the supply and maintenance mission was accomplished by a collective group of eight technical services supply control agencies (SCA's), located mostly in France. During the next three years (1963 to 1965) the SCA's were merged into the United States Army Supply and Maintenance Agency (S&MA), which had its headquarters in Orleans, France. Its supply policy and financial management function, together with one automatic data processing facility (ADP) were located at Maison Forte, France, and its stock control activities, supported by a second ADP facility, were consolidated at Verdun, France. This new activity was also assigned responsibility for the supervision of depot level storage and maintenance missions of the United States Army Communications Zone, Europe, when Headquarters, 4th Logistical Command, located at Verdun, was deactivated. The complete supply and maintenance mission was then being performed by the S&MA with eight hundred fewer personnel than had been employed by its predecessor organizations.

The dissolution of the eight SCA's, the formation of the S&MA, and the assumption of depot storage and maintenance missions were forward steps toward the goal to consolidate and automate. The consolidation resulted in great savings by reduction in facilities and personnel at no loss of efficiency. It permitted the closing of operating points in Poitiers and Ingrandes, France, and left those located at Orleans and Verdun, France, and at Giessen, Germany. The simultaneous acquisition of modern ADP equipment, timed to coincide with the consolidation plan, reduced considerably the manual work involved in processing the thousand supply actions daily.

In mid-1965, the S&MA commenced operating under the military standard requisitioning and issue procedures (MILSTRIP); during the latter part of the year the processing of requisitions for brand name resale subsistence items was relocated to Giessen, Germany. The following year saw more changes. The United States Industrial Center, Europe, located at Sandhofen, Germany was discontinued resulting in the saving of considerable manpower. The four major rebuild plants at Mainz, Böblingen, Schwäbisch-Gmünd and Ober-Ramstadt, Germany, which were controlled by the United States Army Industrial Center, Europe, continued as independent activities, under the operational control of S&MA, assigned to United States Army Communications Zone, Europe.

International politics during the mid 1960's set the stage for an even greater impact on the conduct of United States Army supply and maintenance operations in Europe. In magnitude and depth, the relocation of all United States military forces out of France (FRELOC) begun in March 1966, and completed in May 1967, was a major undertaking and challenge for the S&MA. The S&MA performed its mission throughout the dislocation period without serious disruption. By the time the S&MA operational elements were physically moved, approximately three million tons of supplies had been shipped from France to Germany and/or the United States.

After the S&MA completed its move to Zweibrücken, Germany, further consolidations and management improvement actions highlighted the streamlining of operations. The Logistics Systems Management Office of the S&MA was activated to improve the data systems. The Depot Maintenance Division, which had moved from Maison Forte, France, to Munich, Germany in February 1967, was relocated to Zweibrücken in 1968. In addition, during the latter half of 1968, ADP equipment and personnel (which had been temporarily relocated from Verdun and Maison Forte, France, and mounted on rail car equipment located at Hoehmühlbach, 14 miles from Zweibrücken, Germany), was moved from the train site to the Kreuzberg Kaserne, high on a hill-overlooking Zweibrücken. Shortly thereafter, in 1968, third generation ADP equipment was acquired, and programmers were trained in common business oriented language (COBOL). In October 1968, a major policy change was adopted. This involved the management of major end items together with their related repair parts by systems managers rather than management by stock number. To implement this concept, the Equipment and Parts Division was dissolved and the Aviation and Electronics Division, the Automotive and Weapons Division and the Robility Equipment Division established.

On 25 April 1969, the S&MA was inactivated and Headquarters, United States Army Materiel Command, Europe (MATCOM) was activated at Zweibrücken, Germany. The responsibilities of the new command were expanded on 1 July 1969 by Headquarters United States Theater Army Support Command, Europe (TASCOM), which assigned all TASCOM depots, maintenance plants, and other wholesale supply and maintenance activities to MATCOM. Soon after August 1970, the Permissive Action Link Detachment, the US Army Advanced Weapons Support Command and the US Army Aviation Maintenance Center, Sandhofen, were reassigned from MATCOM to TASCOM. Depot complexing actions aligned Nahbollenbach Army Depot under Kaiserslautern Army Depot; and Pirmasens Army Depot and Mannheim Depot Activity under Germersheim Army Depot. The Giessen Depot Activity was phased out and the BNR mission transferred to Nahbollenbach.

MATCOM was inactivated 29 December 1972 and renamed the U.S. Army Materiel Management Agency, Europe with the responsibility for wholesale logistics as an Agency of TASCOM. Command of the complexes (Germersheim and Kaiserslautern Army Depot), the four maintenance plants, the 97th Quartermaster Battalion and Burtonwood Army Depot was assumed by TASCOM while USAMMAE retained operational control. The 60th Ordnance Group was formed from part of the former MATCOM Directorate of Munition and Missiles and incorporated Miesau Army Depot as a subordinate element.

On 23 January 1973, command and operational control of the 97th Quartermaster Battalion was transferred to the US Army Transportation Command, Europe, with USAMMAE retaining the responsibility for technical control.

On 1 October 1973, command and operational control of the Kaiserslautern and Bremerhaven Cold Stores was transferred from the Directorate of Food, USAMMAE to the Kaiserslautern Army Depot.

On 1 January 1974, the 97th Quartermaster Battalion, including the 993d Petroleum Products Laboratory (Base), less the two truck companies, was reassigned from the US Army Transportation Command, Europe (USATRANSCOMEUR) to USAMMAE, and placed under the operational control of the Directorate of Petroleum. The two truck companies, B and C, remained under the command of USATRANSCOMEUR.

On 1 February 1974, by direction of TASCOM, the two depot complexes, Kaiserslautern and Germersheim; the Burtonwood Army Depot, and US Army Maintenance Plants Mainz, Ober-Ramstadt and Boeblingen, reverted to the command and control of HQ, USAMMAE. The USAMP Schwaebisch-Gmuend, in view of its impending phase-out on 30 June 1974, remained under the command of TASCOM, with HQ, USAMMAE retaining operational control.

On 1 May 1974, by direction of USAREUR in accordance with General Order No. 62 dated 23 April 1974, effective 1 May 1974, USAMMAE assumed command and control of the 60th Ordnance Group.

On 26 March 1975, USAREUR approved the Project STREAMLINE reorganization of USAMMAE. This reorganization involved the elimination of the Directorate of Inventory Control, Stock Control and Subsistence Management and the establishment of a Materiel Management Center (MMC). The MMC took over duties and functions of the disbanded Directorates with the exception of food procurement, a duty which was assigned to the Defense Supply Agency. This reorganization involved extended Logistics Activity realignment, to include the closing of the US Army Maintenance Plant at Boeblingen, and Pirmasens Army Depot; the realignment of stocks from Nahbollenbach to Kaiserslautern and Germersheim Depots, respectively, and the turn over of wholesale subsistence management to the Defense Supply Agency. Coincident to this reorganization, the Standard Army Intermediate Level System for Depots (SAILS) was implemented and became operational at Germersheim Army Depot. Reorganization and realignments were completed on 1 July 1975. (see ALOG article)