1st Mission Support Command | |
---|---|
Country | United States of America |
Branch | United States Army |
Type | Support Command |
Role | Sustainment |
Part of | US Army Reserve |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico |
Motto(s) | "Garita Warriors! Always First!" |
Commanders | |
Current commander | BG. Carlos E. Gorbea |
1st Mission Support Command is a United States Army Reserve command providing support to military units based in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Headquartered at Fort Buchanan within the metropolitan area of the Puerto Rico's capital San Juan the command consists of 54 units and fields 4,200 soldiers. [1]
Reserve units have served in Puerto Rico since 1922 when the 373rd Infantry was moved to the Organized Reserve and headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In 1973, the Support Group was placed directly under First United States Army. By 1974, the 166th Support Group was given full mission control of all United States Army Reserve units in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands and assumed the mission and functions of a major U.S. Army Reserve Command, under First U.S. Army.
The Garita patch is worn by members assigned to this unit. [2]
As of 2017 the following units are subordinated to the 1st Mission Support Command: [3]
The military defense of Puerto Rico is the responsibility of the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris. Locally, Puerto Rico has its own National Guard, the Puerto Rico National Guard, and its own state defense force, the Puerto Rico State Guard, which, by local law, is under the authority of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The commander-in-chief of both forces is the governor of Puerto Rico, currently Pedro Pierluisi, who delegates his authority to the Puerto Rico Adjutant General, currently Major General José J. Reyes. The Adjutant General, in turn, delegates the authority over the State Guard to another officer but retains the authority over the Puerto Rico National Guard as a whole. At the national level, the commander-in-chief is the President of the United States, currently Joe Biden.
United States Army Garrison Fort Buchanan, is a United States Army installation in Puerto Rico. It is located in the metropolitan area of the capital, San Juan.
Brigadier General Antonio Rodríguez Balinas was the first commander of the Office of the First U.S. Army Deputy Command.
Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, nicknamed Rosy Roads, is a former United States Navy base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site operates today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport.
The United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard soldiers. FORSCOM was created on 1 July 1973 from the former Continental Army Command (CONARC), who in turn supplanted Army Field Forces and Army Ground Forces.
Ramey Air Force Base also known as Borinquen Field, is a former United States Air Force base in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. It was named after United States Army Air Forces Brigadier General Howard Knox Ramey. Following its closure, it was redeveloped into Rafael Hernandez Airport.
The 35th Signal Battalion - Enhanced is a reserve unit of the United States Army. The 35th provides critical battlefield communication support for combat operations worldwide. It is headquartered at the Fort Allen Armed Forces Reserve Center Fort Allen, Puerto Rico. The 35th Signal Battalion - Enhanced has four companies: HHC, A Co, B Co, and C Co.
The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) –Spanish: Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico– is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions, which includes to provide soldiers and airmen to the United States Army and U.S. Air Force in national emergencies or when requested by the president of the United States, and to perform military operations at the state level or any other lawful service as requested by the governor of Puerto Rico. The PRNG responds to the governor of Puerto Rico, who serves as its commander in chief and imparts orders with the Puerto Rico adjutant general acting as conduit, and its local mission is to respond as requested in military or civilian tasks. Abroad, its main function is to train a reserve capable of providing additional personnel in a war scenario.
Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated as members of the United States Armed Forces in the American Civil War and in every conflict which the United States has been involved since World War I. In World War II, more than 65,000 Puerto Rican service members served in the war effort, including the guarding of U.S. military installations in the Caribbean and combat operations in the European and Pacific theatres.
The 166th Aviation Brigade is an aviation training brigade of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Cavazos, Texas. It was a subordinate unit of First Army – Division West. An "AC/RC" formation, the 166th Aviation Brigade was the sole organization responsible for the post-mobilization training of United States Army Reserve & National Guard aviation units. The unit was formerly designated as 3rd Brigade, 75th Division.
Luis Ernesto González Vales was a Puerto Rican historian. He held the post of Official Historian of Puerto Rico, having succeeded Pilar Barbosa.
The 92nd Military Police Brigade is a military police brigade of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. The brigade was formerly an infantry brigade combat team known as the 92nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and then a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. It includes two MP battalions, one infantry battalion and some support units.
The Puerto Rico State Guard (PRSG) is the state defense force of Puerto Rico that operates under the sole authority of the governor of Puerto Rico who, in turn, delegates such authority to the Puerto Rico Adjutant General. The Guard's secondary purpose is to assume the state mission of the Puerto Rico National Guard in the event that the National Guard is mobilized. The first incarnation of the PRSG was created in 1941 in response to World War II and it disbanded in 1946. The PRSG was revived in 1971 and has remained in continuous existence since then. It is one of the few state defense forces of the United States that has an air division.
The United States Army Alaska was a military command of the United States Army located in the U.S. state of Alaska. A subordinate command of I Corps, USARAK was the ground element of the Alaskan Command. USARAK was headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and commanded by a major general. USARAK was reflagged as the 11th Airborne Division on June 6, 2022.
The 108th Training Command (Initial Entry Training) is a United States Army Reserve unit headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. At its activation, the unit was designated as the 108th Airborne Division, but in 1952 was redesignated the 108th Infantry Division. In 1956, the division was again reorganized, this time to the designation as the 108th Division (Institutional Training). Under the U.S. Army Reserve Transformation of 2005, the 108th was reorganized to is current structure as the 108th Training Command (Initial Entry Training (IET)). The command is currently one of the largest in the Army Reserve, commanding and coordinating 9,000 soldiers.
The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Arawak Indian name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is Honor et Fidelitas, Latin for Honor and Fidelity. The Army Appropriation Bill created by an act of Congress on 2 March 1899 authorized the creation of the first body of native troops in Puerto Rico. On 30 June 1901, the "Porto Rico Provisional Regiment of Infantry" was organized. On 1 July 1908, Congress incorporated the regiment into the Regular Army as the Puerto Rico Regiment of Infantry, United States Army. On 14 May 1917, the regiment was activated and additional men were assigned, with the unit being sent to serve at Panama. On 4 June 1920, the regiment was renamed 65th Infantry. During World War II, the regiment saw action throughout Europe, especially France and Germany, participating in Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno and Rhin. Several Purple Hearts were awarded posthumously to members of the 65th Regiment.
Fort Allen, officially Fort Allen Training Center, is a Puerto Rico National Guard military installation located on a 921-acre facility in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rico Army National Guard (PRARNG) — officially designated in Spanish as Guardia Nacional Terrestre de Puerto Rico, but colloquially known as Ejército de la Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico — is the Army National Guard of the archipelago of Puerto Rico which, together with the Puerto Rico Air National Guard, comprises the Puerto Rico National Guard. PRARNG is the ground-component of the Puerto Rico National Guard under control of the governor of Puerto Rico, currently Pedro Pierluisi, that performs missions equivalent to those of the Army National Guards of the different states of the United States, including ground defense, disaster relief, and control of civil unrest.
The 101st Troop Command is a troop command of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. The command provides command and control headquarters, and logistical and administrative support to other units of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard that are not structured under another formation headquarters. It also provides administrative support to units from other formations within Puerto Rico that are stationed a long way from their respective higher headquarters. Because of this, the command's units, formation, and structure tends to be inconsistent as it changes periodically from time to time as the National Guard or the United States Army needs.
José J. Reyes is the 22nd Puerto Rico Adjutant General, and the commanding officer of the Puerto Rico National Guard.