The 62nd Medical Brigade, formerly the ''62nd Medical Group'' of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

is a unit of the Army Medical Department and

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

and Fort Lewis. It is based entirely at

Joint Base Lewis-McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Currently, the brigade is commanded by Colonel Yolonda “Y. R.” Summons and Command Sergeant Major Meaux."62nd Medical Brigade"
/ref> The commanders' mission statement for the success of the brigade is the following:

Organize, train, equip, deploy, and command and control medical forces in support of global contingencies. Provide full and direct force health protection operations in support of forces engaged in full spectrum operations.

Most recently, the brigade has served as the Task Force Medical-Afghanistan headquarters.

History

World War 2

The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 62nd Medical Brigade was constituted on 19 December 1942 as the 62nd Medical Battalion Corps. It was activated on 25 January 1943 as the 62nd Medical Battalion, Motorized, at

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard W ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. On 15 September 1943 the battalion was recognized and re-designated as follows: Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 62nd Medical Battalion, the 578th Ambulance Company, the 501st Collecting Company, the 502nd Collecting Company and the 635th Clearing Company. During its service in WWII, the 62nd Medical Brigade participated in four campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe and then was inactivated on 13 November 1945.

Post World War 2

It was then reorganized and re-designated 8 October 1957 as the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 62nd Medical Group in Bad Kreuznach, Rheinland Pfalz, Federal Republic of Germany, The 7th Medical Brigade was the next higher headquarters. HHD 62nd Medical Group had a Unit (PCS) Personnel Change of Station to Ft Lewis, Washington where it has been stationed to the present. Since this reactivation, it has participated in numerous exercises and operations including relief operations following

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged o ...

. The unit was awarded the Joint Award for meritorious achievement while serving with the Task Force Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. On 16 October 2001, the 62nd Medical Group was re-designated as 62nd Medical Brigade. Additionally, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment was re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

Second Gulf War

The Headquarters, 62nd Medical Brigade began initial planning for deployment as the medical brigade for Task Force Ironhorse, 4th Infantry Division from

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

, Texas. The brigade was one element of the task force planned to enter Iraq through Turkey. When the northern option dissolved, the brigade deployed to Kuwait in February 2003, where it received its change of mission from V Corps, 900 km through Kuwait to Mosul, Iraq, the brigade made it quicker and safer than any other

Combat Service Support The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...

unit in theater. ATask Force Steadfast provided echelon above division combat health support to the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

(Air Assault). The multi-component task force had representation from the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, Reserves, and active component that provided

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

employs human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization o ...

, hospitalizations, ground and air evacuation,

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

, combat stress, medical logistics, and area medical support. The brigade headquarters redeployed to Fort Lewis in August 2003, with the last brigade's element returned on July 2004. The 62nd Medical Brigade received orders for a second rotation in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 04-06 in June 2004. The Headquarters, 62nd Medical Brigade began planning for deployment as the sustainment

theater of operations In warfare, a theater or theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are in progress. A theater can include the entirety of the airspace, land and sea area that is or that may potentially become involved in war operations. ...

medical command and control. The brigade deployed to Kuwait in December 2004, as the headquarters element of a multi component task force which includes, Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine elements from the active and reserve component. The task force provided Level III hospitalization, vet services, PM,

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...

, combat stress, logistics, ground and air evacuation operations throughout

CENTCOM The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...

area of responsibility. Level III hospitalization was performed by Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) Portsmouth and Dallas (USN), vet services by 993rd and 64th Vet Detachment (USA), preventive medicine services by FDPMU-E (USN), mental health services by COSTAF (USAF), combat stress services by (USN), logistical support by Forward Team, 6th MMLC and the 551st Medical Logistics Company (USA), ground evacuation by the 514th Medical Company (GA) (USA), and air evacuation by the 236th Medical Company (AA) (USA). The 54th Medical Company (AA) provided air evacuation in Iraq. On 10 July 2007, 62nd Medical Brigade's colors were cased once again for OIF 07-09. 62nd Medical Brigade was tasked with the command and control all medical aspects (Medical, Dental, Preventive Medicine, Veterinarian Services, Combat Stress Control, and Medical Logistics) in support of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, contractors and local nationals in the Iraq Theatre of Operations. Present at the

Casing of the Colors {{Short description, USA military ceremony The Casing of the Colors is a traditional ceremony held by United States Army commands, brigades and regiments as well as United States Marine Corps units. Each of these units have unique flags refe ...

ceremony was guest

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

Sheila Baxter, Commander of

Madigan Army Medical Center The Madigan Army Medical Center, located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord just outside Lakewood, Washington, is a key component of the Madigan Healthcare System and one of the largest military hospitals on the West Coast of the United States. The hos ...

and Western Regional Medical Command. The 62nd Medical Brigade Headquarters served as the command and control (C2) element as Task Force Medical-Afghanistan (TF MED-A)SCOTT FONTAINE; Staff, writer. "No rest for 62nd Medical Brigade." News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA) 27 March 2010: NewsBank. Web. 26 October 2015. from June through December 2013. Primary responsibilities included the coordination of all medical assets for the Army, Navy, and Air Force at echelons above brigade combat team (EABCT) throughout Afghanistan. Individual members and elements from throughout the brigade continue to serve with missions around the world.

References

External links