United States Army Medical Materiel Agency Explained

The United States Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA), is a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland, and serves as the U.S. Army's life cycle management command (LCMC) and executive agent for strategic medical acquisition, project management and logistics programs.

The USAMMA manages strategic programs across the globe; equips and sustains the medical force within the Active Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard components; and develops medical technologies/devices/materiel innovations for use across the battlefield and at fixed Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs). The Agency also centrally manages the Army Prepositioned Stocks and The Office of the Surgeon General's contingency programs as well as other readiness support programs designed for all Army components during full spectrum operations. The Agency deploys Medical Logistics Support Teams (MLST) and/or Forward Repair Activity-Medical (FRA-M) as required to support Joint operations in the different theaters.

The Agency also provides Army Medical Department National Maintenance Program expertise and Sustainment Maintenance technical proficiency to ensure medical maintenance supportability and training requirements, equipment reliability and maintainability, and the maintenance repair and services of medical equipment and technologies.

History

USAMMA's origin is traced to the early part of World War II when the Army Surgeon General recognized the need to develop Army medical materiel support to the rapidly expanding mobilization forces. The genesis of USAMMA began in 1943 when the Procurement Division of the Supply Service, Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), was renamed the Purchase Division and transferred to the Army Medical Purchasing Office in Manhattan, New York. Later that year, the Inventory Control Branch, Distribution and Requirements Division, OTSG, was also transferred to the Army Medical Purchasing Office. The Medical Testing Laboratory transferred from Binghamton, New York, in February 1943. Later that year, the Contract Termination Branch was added. In 1944, the Renegotiation and Stock Control Divisions were moved from the OTSG to New York.

On 21 May 1953, the Army Medical Supply Control Office was organized at Brooklyn, New York, and assigned to the Surgeon General. On 30 April 1965, the unit was re-designated the Army Medical Supply Control Office and on 1 January 1957, the office was again re-designated as the Army Medical Supply Support Activity, a Class II off-post activity of the Surgeon General.

On 2 April 1965, the activity transferred from Brooklyn to Valley Forge General Hospital, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and was renamed the United States Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA), effective 15 April 1965.

In 1974, USAMMA moved to Fort Detrick, Maryland and in 1994 was placed under the newly formed United States Army Medical Research and Development Command. In addition to the USAMMA headquarters located at Fort Detrick, USAMMA has operational maintenance and storage locations in Camp Carroll, South Korea; Sagami General Depot, Japan; Defense Depot Tracy, California; Sierra Army Depot, California; Defense Depot Hill, Utah; Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania; Naval Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina; Husterhoeh Kaserne, Pirmasens, Germany; As Saliyah Army Base, Qatar; and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Commanders of USAMMA and its precursors

No.NameDates of TenureMilitary Rank
1Alfred R. Cannon1942–1943Captain
2 Ellsworth W. Pohl1943–1945Major
3Leonard H. Beers1945 - 1945Major
4C. Bower1945–1946Lieutenant Colonel
5Clark B. Williams1946 - 1946Colonel
6George T.O. Reilly1946 - 1946Lieutenant Colonel
7Augustus J.D. Guenther1946–1947Lieutenant Colonel
8Alfred R. Cannon1947 - 1947Major
9John H. Trenholm1947–1950Major
10Bernard J. Kotte1950–1951Colonel
11Alfred R. Cannon1951–1953Lieutenant Colonel
12John J. Zurchur III1953–1955Lieutenant Colonel
13Eli E. Daman1955–1956Colonel
14Jesse N. Butler1956–1959Colonel
15Edward J. Anderson, Jr.1959–1962Lieutenant Colonel
16Alfred G. Emond1962–1965Lieutenant Colonel
17Harry T. Whitaker1965–1966Lieutenant Colonel
18Russell E. Julian1966–1969Colonel
19F. Bruce Wells1969–1973Colonel
20Fred L. Walter1973–1975Colonel
21Frank W.B. Axtens1975–1977Colonel
22James C. Huff, Jr.1977–1983Colonel
23Lawrence J. Ryan1983–1985Colonel
24Leon L. Holland1985–1988Colonel
25Philip E. Livermore1988–1990Colonel
26Mack C. Hill1990–1992Colonel
27Richard I. Donahue1992–1994Colonel
28James P. Normile1994–1996Colonel
29Daryl W. Lloyd1996–1998Colonel
30James J. Canella1998–2000Colonel
31Roger W. Olsen2000 - 25 May 2000Lieutenant Colonel (Promotable)
32David W. Williams25 May 2000 - 2002Colonel
33Michael D. Daley2002 - 18 June 2004Colonel
34William R. Fry18 June 2004 - 22 September 2006Colonel
35Timothy E. Lamb22 September 2006 - 15 August 2008Colonel
36Jeffrey Unger15 August 2008 - 13 August 2010Colonel
37Gregory Evans13 August 2010 - 20 July 2012Colonel
38Alejandro Lopez-Duke 20 July 2012 - July 2014Colonel
39David GibsonJuly 2014 - 5 August 2016 Colonel
40Lynn E. Marm5 August 2016 - 10 August 2018Colonel
41Timothy Walsh10 August 2018 - Colonel

References

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