"Victory Medics, One Team"
(Updated
3-1-09)
On October 17, 2008, the 30th Medical Brigade became the
30th Medical Command (Deployment Support). It is the Army's first deployable
medical support command. While the unit maintains the clear relationship with
the U.S. Army Medical Command, the 30th MEDCOM is under the operational control
of U.S. Army Europe. The 30th Medical Command will provide medical command and
control to deliver timely and responsive support on the battlefield. The 30th
MEDCOM has the ability to deploy an operational command post along with other
combat service support elements from Europe wherever needed. Current
subordinate units are HHC 30th MEDCOMM, the 212th Combat Support Hospital, and
the 421st Multifunctional Medical Battalion. The 30th MEDCOM is currently
headquartered at Nachrichten Kaserne in Heidelberg, Germany.
The 30th Medical Brigade's history began when it was constituted in the Regular
Army as the 30th Medical Regiment on October 1, 1933. The unit was subsequently
called into active service for WWII on June 25, 1942 as the 30th Medical
Regiment (Armored) at Camp Berkley, Texas. The unit was re-designated as the
30th Medical Group on September 1, 1943. After completing training and
providing cadre for multiple subordinate size units, the 30th Medical Group
arrived on Omaha Beach on October 15, 1944.
The Group was part of the U.S. Ninth Army and moved with
it through its actions in the Rhine and Ruhr valleys as well as the Ninth
Army's drive to the Elbe River. The 30th Medical Group ended the war in
positions at Wolfsburg, Germany. After the war ended, the Group was assigned
the responsibility of supervising the hospitalization of repatriated allied
military personnel, prisoners of war, and displaced persons in an area of
approximately 350 square miles. Upon completion of this mission the 30th Med
Grp moved to Koppel, near Marburg, Germany to prepare for redeployment to the
Pacific.
While the 30th Medical Group was in a staging area near
Marseilles, France, the war in the Pacific ended. The Group then received a
change of orders sending them back to the United States. The 30th Medical Group
arrived in New York on August 30, 1945. During their participation in World War
II, the 30th Medical Brigade earned campaign streamers for the Rhineland
Campaign and the Central European Campaign.
After the war, the 30th Medical Group served in a training
status at Camp Swift, Texas; Camp Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Benning, Georgia.
It was inactivated at Fort Benning in 1949. The unit was once again activated
for the Korean War on March 25, 1953. Their mission was to coordinate the
administration and operation of all medical units in the Eighth Army area.
During their service in Korea, the 30th Medical Brigade received a Meritorious
Unit Commendation for the period of June 4 to July 31, 1953.
In 1955 the Group was transferred to the United States
Army, Europe, assigned to Seventh Army, and stationed at Landstuhl Army Medical
Center. In 1965, the 30th Medical Group was attached to Headquarters, 7th
Medical Brigade, becoming an original part of the US Army's first medical
brigade. In 1974 the 30th Medical Group was assigned to 2nd Support Command
(Corps) and given the mission of providing medical care to the VII Corps.
The Group deployed in December 1990 to Southwest Asia to
provide hospitalization and medical evacuation during Operations Desert Shield
and Desert Storm. The 30th Medical Group was assigned to the 332nd Medical
Brigade and became the primary medical support to VII Corps. The unit
re-deployed in early May 1991 and was deactivated in the fall of 1991.
The 30th Medical Group was reorganized as the 30th Medical
Brigade on March 19, 1992. At that time, the 30th MED BDE was given the wartime
mission of command and control over V Corps' medical elements. In peacetime the
Brigade was incorporated into HQ, 7th MEDCOM, where it was involved in
providing community health care as well as contingency for wartime planning.
When the 7th MEDCOM inactivated October 15, 1994, the 30th
Medical Brigade assumed control of the MEDCOM's contingency missions and took
complete control of all of USAREUR's deployable medical units.
From November 1995 until the spring of 1997, the 30th
Medical Brigade and many of its subordinate units were deployed to Hungary,
Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of Operation Joint Endeavor. The
last 30th MED BDE soldiers returned to Germany in April of 1997. The Brigade
units continue to provide support for the ongoing operations in support of KFOR
Operation Joint Guardian.
On February 13, 2003, the 30th Medical Brigade and many of
its subordinate units deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The
Brigade led all V Corps medical operations, reaching a strength of over 5,000
soldiers and commanding 78 different units. The 30th Medical Brigade treated
thousands of American and Coalition Soldiers, Enemy Prisoners of War,
contractors and Iraqi civilians. The 30th Medical Brigade also worked closely
with the Iraqi Ministry of Health in rebuilding the Iraqi medical
infrastructure. Operation Iraqi Freedom was a historic achievement for the 30th
MED BDE by becoming the largest medical brigade ever deployed. The 30th Medical
Brigade also achieved the lowest Died of Wounds and Disease and Non-Battle
Injury rates in the history of war. The Brigade's Operation Iraqi Freedom I
units re-deployed to Germany in February, 2004, but a significant number of
Soldiers in the Brigade remain deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, serving in
Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in support of the Global War on
Terror.
The units that wear the patch of the 30th Medical Brigade,
now known as the 30th Medical Command, have built a solid lifesaving reputation
in both peace and war. The Latin motto "In Cruce Mea Fides" (In The Cross Is My
Faith), found on the unit crest, is expressive of the confidence placed in the
medical functions of the units in this organization. The 30th Medical Command's
more familiar maxim is "Victory Medics, One Team!"
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