On 5 December 2025, the USAWHC was activated and replaced
United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM). Effective the same date, the
United States Army North (ARNORTH) and
United States Army South (ARSOUTH) were assigned to USAWHC, including their mission and resources. and reduce its number of generals. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on January 14, 2025 at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, “We won World War II with seven four-star generals, Today we have 44.…There is an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield. We do not need more bureaucracy at the top. We need more warfighters empowered at the bottom." The secretary also published his plan for the realignment called the
Unified Command Plan. Prior to the establishment of USAWHC, an "AMERICOM" proposed by President
Donald Trump would merge U.S. Northern Command with U.S. Southern Command. When ARNORTH and ARSOUTH conclude their
Army Service Component Command service to
NORTHCOM and
SOUTHCOM respectively, USAWHC will become the Army Component of both NORTHCOM and SOUTHCOM. The USAWHC reports directly to
Headquarters, Department of the Army. The following units were transferred under command of USAWHC (effective 5 December 2025): the
First Army, the
XVIII Airborne Corps, the
20th CBRNE Command, and the
Air Traffic Services Command. The command will also take charge of the PANAMAX and Vigilant Shield exercises. PANAMAX is a U.S.-led multinational exercise, involving troops from Central and South American nations. The other, Vigilant Shield, is a U.S.-based exercise that has troops train for and simulate defense of attacks on the United States. == Organization ==