AMC was established on 8 May 1962, and was activated on 1 August of that year as a major field command of the U.S. Army. Prior to its creation, Lt. Gen.
Frank S. Besson, Jr. directed a
Department of the Army study to be conducted, of which recommended the creation of a "materiel development and logistics command". He would serve as the AMC's first commander. As part of the formation of AMC, various field activities and
installations were transferred into it. Most of those field activities and installations came from six of the technical services, including: the Chief Chemical Officer,
Chief of Engineers,
Chief of Ordnance (the single largest source of AMC installations), the
Quartermaster General,
Chief Signal Officer, and the
Chief of Transportation. The seventh technical service, the
Surgeon General, provided one medical depot. Several other installations and activities came from
Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, the
Continental Army Command (CONARC), and the Chief of Research and Development. Since its creation in 1962, AMC underwent constant reorganizations in its headquarters and field commands. These conditions reflected a more fundamental problem, chronic dissatisfaction with the Army’s entire system for developing and fielding new weapons and equipment. A special Army Materiel Acquisition Review Committee, on 1 April 1974 recommended sweeping organizational and management reforms. On 23 January 1976, AMC was renamed to
U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (
DARCOM). DARCOM commander Gen.
John R. Deane Jr. best summed up the renaming's purpose, which was "to emphasize that readiness is a part of our business." Accordingly, during fiscal year 1976 the
Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) became the Tank-Automotive Research and Development Command and the Tank-Automotive Materiel Readiness Command. The
Missile and the Armaments Commands were similarly divided. == Locations ==