97th Army Reserve Command

97th Army Reserve Command. The 97th Army Reserve Command (97th ARCOM) was a major command within the United States Army Reserve from 1967 until its inactivation in 1996. Headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, it was responsible for overseeing and providing administrative and logistical support to a wide array of Army Reserve units across a multi-state region in the Mid-Atlantic. The command played a significant role in training and mobilizing reserve components during the final decades of the Cold War and through operations such as Operation Desert Storm.

History

The 97th Army Reserve Command was constituted on 1 December 1967 as part of a major reorganization of the Army Reserve structure, transitioning from a divisional to a functional command system. It was activated at Fort Meade, assuming control of numerous units previously aligned under the 102nd Infantry Division. Throughout the Cold War, the 97th ARCOM's primary mission was to train and prepare its subordinate units for potential mobilization in support of U.S. European Command and Atlantic Command war plans. Following the Gulf War, where many of its soldiers were activated for Operation Desert Storm, the command entered a period of post-Cold War drawdown. It was ultimately inactivated on 16 September 1996 as part of the broader Army Reserve Transformation which created Regional Support Commands.

Organization

The 97th ARCOM was a Corps-level command under the operational control of First Army. Its area of responsibility encompassed Army Reserve units in Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The command's structure included a headquarters and headquarters company at Fort Meade and oversaw a diverse mix of subordinate brigades and groups. These included combat support and combat service support units such as engineer brigades, military police commands, transportation groups, and medical brigades. Key subordinate units during its existence included the 220th Military Police Brigade, the 310th Theater Army Area Command, and the 352nd Civil Affairs Command.

Commanders

The 97th Army Reserve Command was led by a series of Major Generals. Its first commander was Major General John W. Morris, a distinguished engineer who later served as Chief of Engineers. Another notable commander was Major General James F. McCall, who led the command during the Gulf War mobilization. The final commander of the 97th ARCOM was Major General Robert G. Moorhead Jr., who presided over its inactivation ceremonies in 1996. Commanders were typically senior Army Reserve officers with extensive experience in command and staff positions within the Department of the Army and joint environments.

Operations and exercises

The 97th ARCOM's operational focus was on annual training exercises designed to maintain unit readiness for NATO contingency plans. It regularly participated in large-scale Army Reserve exercises like REFORGER and CRESTED EAGLE, which tested the deployment and integration of reserve forces with U.S. Army Europe and VII Corps. The command's most significant real-world test came during the Gulf War, when thousands of its soldiers from units like the 2290th Army Hospital and various transportation companies were mobilized for Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield. In the post-Cold War era, the command also supported domestic civil authorities during natural disasters and other emergencies within its regional jurisdiction.

Heraldry

The shoulder sleeve insignia of the 97th Army Reserve Command was approved on 4 June 1970. The design featured a blue shield with a white diagonal band, reflecting the command's numerical designation within the Army's heraldic system, where blue and white are colors traditionally associated with infantry and the number 97 is represented by a diagonal band. The distinct insignia was worn by all assigned personnel and symbolized the command's lineage and its role as a descendant of earlier infantry organizations. The unit did not have a separate distinctive unit insignia (crest) approved, common for major commands of its type during that period.

Category:United States Army Reserve