Back to Online Newspapers

Major units at Joint Base Lewis-McChord

The 4th Brigade Strykers practice techniques on Fort Lewis prior to deployment. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

Email Article Print Article Share on Facebook Share on Reddit Share on StumbleUpon

I Corps, America's First Corps, is a three-star headquarters that manages daily activities for more than 70,000 Soldiers and Airmen stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and across the Pacific, including Hawaii, Alaska and Japan. Their job is to "Deploy, Fight and Win" decisively in any environment to enhance security and stability in the Pacific region.  While deployed, America's First Corps commands all branches of service -- Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines -- as well as international forces.

America's First Corps' major subordinate commands include: 7th Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division (Schofield Barracks, Hawaii), 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Alaska and I Corps Forward (Japan).

  • I Corps units include: I Corps Headquarters, 7th Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division (Schofield Barracks, Hawaii), 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Alaska, and I Corps Forward HQ in Japan.

62nd Airlift Wing. A part of the Air Mobility Command, the 62nd Airlift Wing provides the Department of Defense with a fast, flexible and responsive Global Reach airlift capability. Together with its Reserve associate wing, the 446th Airlift Wing, they fly and maintain a fleet of C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, and provide a large part of Air Mobility Command's Global Reach airlift capability. This adaptable and reactive air mobility promotes stability in regions by keeping America's competency and character highly visible. The wings' tasking requirements range from supplying humanitarian airlift relief to victims of disasters, to airdropping troops into the heart of contingency operations in hostile areas.

  • 62nd Airlift Wing units include: 62nd Operations Group, 62nd Maintenance Group, plus two independent squadrons and a wing staff. The wing staff has a variety of agencies that support the wing commander, group commanders and the base population.
  • 446th Airlift Wing units include: 446th Operations Group, 446th Maintenance Group, and the 446th Mission Support Group. As JBLM's sole provider of aeromedical evacuation and critical care transport teams, the 446th Aeromedical Staging and 446th Aeromedical Evacuation squadrons deploy and transport critical care patients throughout the world.

1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) is one of five active-duty Special Forces Groups in the U.S. Army. The 1st SFG is tasked to support the U.S. Pacific Command in the Asia/Pacific Theater. The U.S. military's premier special warfare experts, the Special Forces Green Berets provide a viable military option for operational requirements that may be inappropriate or infeasible for large conventional forces. They are capable of conducting the full spectrum of special operations, from building indigenous security forces to identifying and targeting threats to U.S. national interests.

2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
. The 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, is one of four battalions assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment and can deploy anywhere in the world for no-notice combat operations. The battalion is part of the Army's premier, direct-action raid force, capable of conducting forcible entry operations and special operations raids across the entire spectrum of combat.

Regional Health Command-Pacific. Regional Health Command-Pacific operates as one command in two geographic locations and includes a staff of more than 200 civilian and military personnel. The commanding general is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the deputy commanding general located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. RHC-P's vast area of responsibility encompasses more than 4,500 miles across five times zones, and includes medical, dental, public health and warrior care, and transition services facilities that are located in Hawaii, Washington State, Alaska, California, Japan and Korea.  The region also serves as the single point of accountability for health readiness in support of U.S. Army Pacific and U.S. Pacific Command's strategic missions. Additionally, RHC-P's Global Health Engagements are an integral component of the region's overall mission. GHEs have been proven to increase the region's credibility among the 36 Indo-Asia-Pacific countries in the AOR, and are making real impacts in those countries. The work being done improves the health and safety of warfighters, expands medical readiness, builds trust and deepens professional medical relationships around the world. The region boasts state-of-the-art medical and technological capabilities and routinely sets the standard for innovative and ground-breaking research initiatives. The collaborative research partnerships taking place in the region are contributing to the advancement of a medically ready force, while helping to advance medical treatments for cancer, traumatic brain injury and a host of infectious diseases.

Madigan Army Medical Center. Madigan Army Medical Center comprises a network of Army medical facilities located in Washington State and California that serve more than 100,000 patients. Since its opening in 1944 as a temporary hospital for war wounded, Madigan has grown into a tertiary care medical center. Madigan is one of only two designated Level II trauma centers in Army Medicine and maintains approximately 220 beds for inpatient care, and can expand to accommodate more than 300 inpatients. Outpatients are seen at the hospital's medical mall complex handling nearly one million visits annually. In keeping with its reputation as an unparalleled education facility and modern research platform, Madigan also offers outstanding Graduate Medical and Nursing Education Programs. Madigan is renowned for its exceptional quality of care and performs more than 38 surgeries, fills nearly 4,000 prescriptions and delivers five babies daily.

Western Air Defense Sector. A joint, bi-national organization, primarily made up of members from the Washington Air National Guard, Western Air Defense Sector guards more than 73 percent of the Western U.S. from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Using more than 200 radar devices, WADS detects, analyzes and monitors all air traffic within the continental United States 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. WADS will initiate action on any aircraft identified as an actual or possible threat, to include launching fighter jets from the nearest location to get "eyes on" the aircraft. Major units that make up the Western Air Defense Sector are the 225th Air Defense Group, 225th Air Defense Squadron and 225th Support Squadron.  

Read next close

Online Newspapers

Timeline: From Camp Lewis to Joint Base Lewis-McChord

comments powered by Disqus