The 143rd Sustainment Command (formerly: 143rd Transportation Command, is one of seven general officer sustainment commands in the United States Army Reserve. It has command and control of more than 10,000 Army Reserve Soldiers throughout the southeastern United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. It is made up of more than 100 Army Reserve units whose missions are diverse and logistical in nature. The mission of the 143d ESC is to provide command and control of sustainment forces and to conduct sustainment, deployment, redeployment and retrograde operations in support of U.S. and multinational forces. The mission of the 143d when not deployed is to ensure readiness of the soldiers under its command and control. The ESC is a peacetime subordinate to the 377th Theater Sustainment Command.
History
The 143rd Sustainment Command was originally constituted as the 143rd Transportation Command 24 November 1967 in the Army Reserve and activated 2 January 1968 in Orlando, Florida. It was reorganized and redesignated 16 October 1985 as the 143d Transportation Command. From 2003 to 2007, the 143d Transportation Command maintained a continuous presence in Southwest Asia in support of US Military Units engaged in Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM. In a ceremony 17 September 2007, the 143rd Transportation Command cased its command colors for the last time signifying the end of the unit’s era as a major transportation command headquarters. Immediately following, the new 143rd ESC Commanding General, Brigadier General Daniel I. Schultz, uncased the 143rd ESC colors, signifying the standup of this new logistics headquarters and the start of a new era for the 143rd. Six months after the transition ceremony the 143rd ESC received a Department of the Armywarning order for mobilization and deployment of the 143rd headquarters. Since receipt of the warning order, the 143rd ESC prepared for deployment by completing various Soldier readiness activities including soldier readiness processing, a sustainment training exercise conducted at Ft. Lee, Virginia and warrior training at the Regional Training Center, Ft. Hunter Liggett, California. On 9 January 2009, the 143rd ESC deployed in support of the troop buildup in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. The 143rd's deployment is the first time an ESC has deployed to Afghanistan. The mission of the 143d ESC during this deployment is to provide command and control of assigned forces, and to conduct sustainment, deployment, redeployment and retrograde operations in support of U.S. and multinational forces in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. In December 2009 the 143rd ESC turned over command of the Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan to the 135th Sustainment Command. In June 2013, the 143rd ESC once again mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and deployed 265 Soldiers to Kuwait and Afghanistan in support of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command and operations in the US Central Command area of operations. The unit assumed responsibility for operational sustainment in the ARCENT AOR in October 2013 from the 135th Sustainment Command, and served as the senior operational sustainment headquarters in Kuwait until May 2014, when the unit redeployed, having transferred responsibility for operational sustainment to the 1st Sustainment Command.
Reorganized and redesignated 16 October 1985 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 143d Transportation Command
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Converted, reorganized, and redesignated 17 September 2007 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 143d Sustainment Command
Ordered into active military service 9 January 2009 at Orlando, Florida; released from active military service 12 February 2010 and reverted to reserve status
Ordered into active military service 14 June 2013 at Orlando, Florida; released from active military service 15 June 2014 and reverted to reserve status