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"Ready, Reliable, and Relevant"
 (Updated 5-17-08)
The job of the 44th Medical Brigade, now the 44th
Medical Command, is to organize, train, deploy, command and control their
subordinate medical units to provide corps-level combat medical, and community
health support, across all levels of conflict and in peacetime garrison
environment. The 44th Medical Command is currently stationed at Ft. Bragg,
North Carolina. Fort Bragg subordinate units include the HHC 44th MEDCOM, the
28th Combat Support Hospital, the 261st Medical Battalion (Multifunctional),
the 51st MED (VS), The 248th MED (VS) and the 257th MED (DS). The 44th Medical
Command also controls the 86th Combat Support Hospital at Ft. Campbell,
Kentucky, the 14th Combat Support Hospital at Ft. Benning, Georgia, the 6th
Medical Logistics Management Center (MLMC) at Ft. Detrick, Maryland, and the
1st Area Medical Laboratory (AML) and the 9th AML at Aberdeen Proving Grounds,
Maryland.
The 44th Medical Brigade was formed on 30 December
1965 and was activated on 1 January 1966 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the home
of the Army Medical Branch. The Brigade deployed to Vietnam, where it
participated in 12 of the 17 campaigns, including Counteroffensive,
Counteroffensive Phases II through VII, Tet Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969;
Winter-Spring 1970, and the Sanctuary Counteroffensive.
In March, 1970, the 44th Medical Brigade Headquarters
was merged with the United States Army, Vietnam Surgeon's Office to form the
Medical Command, Vietnam (Provisional). The 44th Medical Brigade's colors were
returned to the United States in December of 1970. During the Brigade's service
in Vietnam, it was awarded two Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamers. The
streamers are embroidered "Vietnam 1969-1970" by the government of the Republic
of Vietnam.
On March 19, 1973, the 44th Medical Brigade was
inactivated at Fort Meade, Maryland. The Brigade was reactivated on September
21, 1974 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On July 16, 1993, the 44th Medical
Brigade became a separate major subordinate command reporting directly to the
XVIII Airborne Corps with a general officer commanding.
Since moving to Ft. Bragg, elements of the 44th
Medical Brigade have participated in Operation URGENT FURY in Grenada (October,
1983), Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama (December, 1989), Operations DESERT
SHIELD (August, 1990) and DESERT STORM (February, 1991) in Saudi Arabia, and
Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY in Haiti (September, 1994). The Brigade has also
participated in humanitarian relief missions. Of note are the hurricane relief
efforts in the United States, including those following Hurricanes Andrew
(1992), Katrina (2005), and Rita (2005).
The Brigade was converted to a Medical Command on 16
October 2001 and became a multi-component unit. While at Fort Bragg the 44th
Medical Brigade had become an airborne unit, but as part of its conversion the
44th Medical Command lost this designation. Elements of the 44th Medical
Brigade have deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the Global War
on Terrorism. During 2006 the 14th Combat Support Hospital deployed to
Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 28th Combat Support
Hospital and the 86th Combat Support Hospital have both deployed to Iraq in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 04-06. These two units served as the
"Baghdad ER," which was highlighted by the 86th CSH in the HBO documentary of
the same name.
The 44th Medical Command transferred their
responsibilities as the commanding medical unit in Multinational Corps-Iraq to
the 30th Medical Brigade from Heidelberg, Germany on October 18, 2005. During
their tour the 44th Medical Command conducted more than 400 brain surgeries,
nearly 7,000 general surgery procedures, 6,000 orthopedic procedures and close
to 1,500 subspecialty surgical procedures.
The 44th MEDCOM's stated mission is to "Organize,
resource, train, sustain, deploy, command, control and support assigned and
attached healthcare capabilities to provide flexible, responsive and effective
health service support and force health protection to supported forces
conducting joint and simultaneous full spectrum operations." The professionals
who are assigned to this command perform this mission superbly, proving their
motto, that they are "Ready, Relevant, and Reliable."
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