[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 22 (Thursday, February 3, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E99]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 1ST 
  MISSION SUPPORT COMMAND OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY RESERVE IN PUERTO 
                                  RICO

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                     HON. JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON

                             of puerto rico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 3, 2022

  Miss GONZALEZ-COLON. Madam Speaker, I would like to give special 
recognition to the Organized Reserve in Puerto Rico known as the 1st 
Mission Support Command.
  In June 1922, the Organized Reserve in Puerto Rico was authorized 
when the Headquarters of the 187th Infantry Brigade and the 373rd 
Infantry Regiment were allotted from the National Army. This force, 
transformed by the needs of the nation continues to serve today as the 
1st Mission Support Command. As we approach the 100th anniversary of 
its organization it is befitting to pause to commemorate and recognize 
the contributions of its veterans and continuing contributions of its 
soldiers to vital national security interests and homeland defense.
  Answering the nation's call when liberty is at risk is a 
responsibility that the citizen soldiers from the newly Organized 
Reserve in Puerto Rico readily assumed. From July 14, 1939 to July 7, 
1945, 119 enlisted and 513 officers from the Organized Reserve in 
Puerto Rico served in World War II. During the decade of the 1940s the 
Organized Reserve in Puerto Rico were designated the Army Reserve in 
Puerto Rico. Subsequent military priorities adapted, expanded, and 
amended the organization of the Army Reserve in Puerto Rico to include 
additional military occupational specialties, capabilities and 
responsibility for units in the Virgin Islands. Its current 
denomination as 1st Mission Support Command was authorized on October 
19, 2007.
  These changes enabled the Army Reserve in Puerto Rico to activate and 
deploy from September 1990 through October 1991, more than 1,000 
Soldiers in support of the Persian Gulf War. After the events of 
September 11, 2001, the 1st Mission Support Command deployed more than 
5,000 soldiers to provide indispensable and sustained support for 
operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, Iraqi Freedom, and other 
throughout the world, with 95 percent of units having deployed or 
provided mobilized soldiers, in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
  The commitment of the members of the 1st Mission Support Command and 
their success wherever they deploy is a demonstration of their quality 
and devotion to duty. But behind each of them are the family members 
who support them with their love and who endure the long periods of 
separation spent in training and deployments. This 100th anniversary is 
also a celebration of their stoic support.
  Confronting overseas threats is where the 1st Mission Support Command 
has earned its reputation as a professional and capable force. But 
probably the greatest threat confronted by the command was not in a 
remote battlefield, but in its own backyard. The battering winds of 
Hurricane Irma and Maria in 2017 impacted Puerto Rico with such a force 
that within a few hours transformed our beloved Island into a disaster 
zone. The severity of the Island-wide disaster required designating the 
1st Mission Support Command as the U.S. Army Reserve Caribbean 
Geographical Command, which added key new capabilities to its formation 
and placing thousands of additional soldiers, under one chain of 
command. It is evidence of the quality of leadership and soldiers who 
are part of the 1st Mission Support Command that even when faced with 
the emergency imposed by the disaster, they gallantly helped their 
communities while effectively continuing to support their military 
commitments overseas.
  As the 1st Mission Support Command in Puerto Rico stands in the 
threshold of a new century, we are confident that the strong roots 
developed during the last 100 years have prepared the men and woman of 
this command to respond to the challenges that war, or nature could 
bring in the future. Is in this context that I request that this body 
joins with me to recognize and commend the 1st Mission Command for the 
selfless and dedicated service of its past and present citizen-soldiers 
whose personal courage, contributions, and sacrifices have helped 
preserve the freedom and advance the national security and homeland 
defense of the United States of America.

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