The 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support) (MCDS) or "Desert Medics" is headquartered in

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...

and manages all the Army Reserve deployable field medical units east of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. While the 807th MCDS covers the MTOE medical units to the west and ARMEDCOM provides command and control for all the Table of Distribution and Allowance (TDA) medical units within

CONUS ''Conus'' is a genus of venomous and predatory cone snails.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&i ...

. Units of the 3rd MCDS provide general, surgical, dental, ambulance, behavioral health, preventive maintenance, and veterinary support to Army units and to civilian populations.

Order of battle

World War II

Operation Desert Storm

*3rd Medical Command **566th Medical Company **45th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) **173rd Medical Group ***8th Evacuation Hospital ****663rd Medical Detachment (Surgical) ***85th Evacuation Hospital ****420th Medical Detachment (Orthopedic) ***201st Evacuation Hospital ***207th Evacuation Hospital ****386th Medical Detachment (Neurosurgery) ***47th Field Hospital ***300th Field Hospital ***120th Medical Battalion ****675th Medical Detachment (Dispensary) ****1291h Medical Company (Clearing) ****216th Medical Company (Ambulance) ****348th Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance) ****872nd Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance) **202nd Medical Group ***129th Evacuation Hospital ***311th Evacuation Hospital ***365th Evacuation Hospital ***927th Medical Company **244th Medical Group ***50th General Hospital ****423rd Medical Laboratory (Veterinary Services) ****996th Medical Laboratory ***316th Station Hospital ****989th Medical Detachment (Surgery) ***382nd Field Hospital ****467th Medical Detachment (Psychiatry) ****357th Medical Detachment (Neurosurgery) ***144th Evacuation Hospital ***217th Evacuation Hospital ***92nd Medical Battalion ****17th Medical Detachment (General Dispensary) ****947th Medical Company (Clearing) ****134th Medical Company (Ambulance) ****336th Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance) **803rd Medical Group ***114th Evacuation Hospital ***251st Evacuation Hospital ****181st Medical Detachment (Thoracic Surgery) ****395th Medical Detachment (Orthopedics) ****904th Medical Detachment (Neurosurgery) ****424th Medical Laboratory ***350th Evacuation Hospital ***109th Medical Battalion ****75th Medical Detachment (Dispensary Small) ****914th Medical Detachment (Dispensary Small) ****477th Medical Company (Ambulance) ****812th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) ****343rd Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance) ****986th Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance) **2nd Medical Detachment (Dental Headquarters) ***122nd Medical Detachment (Dental Services) ***123rd Medical Detachment (Dental Services) **379th Medical Detachment (Blood Headquarters) ***448th Medical Detachment (Blood Processing) **320th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Headquarters) ***356th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service) ***422nd Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service) ***483rd Medical Detachment (Veterinary Small Animal) ****888th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Small Animal) **12th Medical Detachment (Preventive Medicine) ***714th Medical Detachment (Entomology) ***105th Medical Detachment (Environmental Engineering) ***983rd Medical Detachment (Environmental Sanitation) **US Army Medical Materiel Center, Saudi Arabia (USAMMCSWA) ***47th Medical Supply, Optical, and Maintenance (MEDSOM) Battalion ****980th MEDSOM Battalion ****249th Medical Detachment (Supply Team ) ****49th Medical Detachment (Medical Maintenance) ****153rd Medical Detachment (Inventory Control) ****605th Medical Detachment (Blood Distribution) ****655th Medical Detachment (Blood Storage) ***145th MEDSOM Battalion ****402nd Medical Detachment (Inventory Control) ****220th Medical Detachment (Medical Maintenance)

Subordinate units

3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support) is responsible for all operational reserve medical units east of the Mississippi river and in Louisiana. * 5th MED BDE

5th Medical Brigade, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

** 810th Hospital Center, in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

*** 75th Field Hospital, in

*** 306th Field Hospital, in Gillem Enclave, Georgia ** 429th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

8th Medical Brigade, in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

** 818th Hospital Center, in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

***865th Field Hospital, in

***912th Field Hospital, in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

** 439th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

332nd Medical Brigade, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

** 411th Hospital Center, in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

***301st Field Hospital, in

Saint Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the state that is not a county seat (the ...

***345th Field Hospital, in

338th Medical Brigade, in

Horsham, Pennsylvania Horsham is a census-designated place in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,193 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Biddle Air National Guard Base at the former site of Naval Air Station ...

** 410th Hospital Center, in

Fort Meade, Maryland Fort Meade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,324 at the 2020 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, Central Security Service, United States Cyber Command an ...

*** 18th Field Hospital, in Fort Story, Virginia ***48th Combat Support Hospital, at

** 424th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, in Edgemont, Pennsylvania * 804th MED BDE

804th Medical Brigade, in

Devens, Massachusetts Devens is a regional enterprise zone and census-designated place in the towns of Ayer and Shirley (in Middlesex County) and Harvard (in Worcester County) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is the successor to Fort Devens, a military post t ...

** 803rd Hospital Center, in

***399th Field Hospital, in Devens, Massachusetts *** 405th Field Hospital, in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...

Lineage

3rd Medical Command Headquarters and Headquarters Company was constituted 21 December 1928, in the Regular Army as the 3rd Auxiliary Surgical Group. Activated 5 May 1942, at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Reorganized and redesignated 1 August 1945, as the 896th Medical Professional Service. Inactivated 6 October 1945, in Germany. Redesignated 16 March 1991, as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Medical Command. Activated in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

with personnel from Headquarters Company, 3rd Medical Command (Provisional) organized 16 September 1990 in Saudi Arabia. The ARCENT Medical Group (Provisional) was established on 5 or 6 December 1990 by ARCENT Permanent Order 262-1 (Dinackus writes 5 December 1990). On 29 December 1990 ARCENT Permanent Order 273-1 amended that order to create the United States Army Forces Central Command Medical Command (Provisional). It appears the order was issued on 26 March, to be made effective (implemented) on 29 December. In order to provide the additional staff required for Headquarters, ARCENT Medical Command (Provisional), the staff of the 202nd Medical Group, an Army National Guard unit from Florida, was combined with the staff of the ARCENT Medical Group (Provisional). On 5 March 1991, Forces Command Permanent Order 31-1 activated the 3rd Medical Command effective 15 March 1991. While not technically a re-designation, the personnel and equipment of the ARCENT Medical Command (Provisional) were 'reflagged' as the 3rd Medical Command.

Unit insignia

Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI)

Description

:On a maroon triangle, one point down, with a yellow border, in height and in width overall, two yellow serpents with maroon eyes entwined upon a yellow staff with a white

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

at top.

Symbolism

:Maroon and white are colors traditionally associated with the

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

. The designation of the Command is denoted by the triangular shape of the insignia. The staff and serpents refer to medical service and the Maltese cross recalls the unit's heritage of support in combat. Yellow/gold stands for excellence.

Background

:The shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized on 12 June 1992. (TIOH Drawing Number A-1-800)

Distinctive unit insignia (DUI)

Description

:A gold color metal and enamel device in height overall, consisting of a maroon cross surmounted by a white

; on either side a gold spring of laurel conjoined at top and surmounted at top by two brown scimitars crossed diagonally points down with red tassels; at bottom an arced red scroll inscribed "FRONT LINE SURGEONS" in gold letters.

Symbolism

:Maroon and white are colors traditionally associated with the Medical Corps. The maroon cross stands for Army medicine while the Maltese cross recalls the 3rd Medical Command's heritage of service and sacrifice in the field. The laurel sprigs, signifying honor and achievement, recall the unit's

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

campaigns and service. They simulate an arrowhead recalling the unit's assault landing in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, while forming a triangle highlighting the unit's numerical designation. The scimitars represent the unit's participation in the two Southwest Asia Campaigns. Gold stands for excellence, red for courage and sacrifice.

Background

:The distinctive unit insignia was authorized on 27 July 1992

Unit honors

World War II

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

(with

Arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. ...

) *

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

(with

) * Northern France * Ardennes-Alcase *

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

Southwest Asia

*Defense of Saudi Arabia *Liberation and Defense of Kuwait *Southwest Asia Cease-Fire

Global War on Terrorism

*Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) *Iraqi Freedom (OIF)

Iraq

*National Resolution *Iraqi Surge *Iraqi Sovereignty

Unit awards

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

: * EUROPEAN THEATER 1944 * SOUTHWEST ASIA 1990–1991 * SOUTHWEST ASIA 2009–2010 * SOUTHWEST ASIA 2012–2013 (Detachment)

References

External links

* GlobalSecurity.org
3rd Medical Command, miscellaneous details
{{US Army MEDCOM navbox

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: * 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) * 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway * ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...

Military units and formations established in 1942