ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. --May 1, 2021 marks the 40th birthday of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Throughout its history, responsibilities and organizations have been gained and lost, but the mission of supporting C5ISR readiness for Soldiers remains unchanged. Below are some “did you know” facts about the evolution and development of CECOM.
- The command that would eventually evolve into CECOM was born in 1962 at the same time as the U.S. Army Materiel Command. The Electronics Command (ECOM) was charged with managing Signal research, development, and logistics support after the Army disbanded the technical services.
- ECOM was fragmented in January 1978 on the recommendation of the Army Materiel Acquisition Review Committee (AMARC) in order to form the following three commands and one activity: The Communications and Electronics Materiel Readiness Command (CERCOM); the Communications Research and Development Command (CORADCOM); the Electronics Research and Development Command (ERADCOM); and the Avionics Research and Development Activity (AVRADA).
- In typical Army fashion, reassessment of the changes concluded that, while the emphasis on research and development had increased for the better, there was also much duplication of effort.
- To reduce duplication, AMC combined CERCOM and CORADCOM to form the new Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), effective May 1, 1981.
- When established, CECOM included a Research and Development Center (RDEC, or CECOM RDEC), overseen by a Deputy Commander for Research (a one-star billet) and responsibilities for acquisition.
- Acquisition responsibilities were reassigned in 1987 to the newly-created Army Acquisition Executive (AAE) and the Program Executive Offices (PEO).
- CECOM supported three of the newly created PEOs: PEO Communications Systems (PEO COMM); PEO Command and Control Systems (PEO CCS); and PEO Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Systems (PEO IEW&S). Fiscal year 1988 represented the first full year that the PEOs functioned as separate organizations. PEO CCS merged with PEO COMM on July 1, 1995 to form the PEO for Command, Control and Communications Systems (C3S; later C3T).
- In October 1983 the Software Development and Support Center (SDSC) was established within CECOM, serving as the focal point for developing, maintaining, and producing software for Battlefield Automated Systems (BAS). In October 1996, CECOM’s Research and Development Center Software Engineering Directorate merged with Information Systems Software Center (ISSC), Industrial Logistics Systems Center (ILSC), and Logistics Systems Software Center (LSSC) from several commands, to become the CECOM Software Engineering Center (SEC), allowing streamlined software support missions Army-wide with improved technological and cost effectiveness.
- In November 1987, the CECOM Logistics and Readiness Center was stood up to act as an overseer to all communications-electronics logistics functions within CECOM – responsibilities included fielding, new equipment training, operations, maintenance, sustainment, Foreign Military Sales, communications security programs, and the management of Level II and Level II programs. It would become the Integrated Logistics and Support Center in August 2016.
- In 1991, The Avionics Research and Development Activity (AVRADA), established in 1978 with the dissolution of ECOM, was united with CECOM.
- In October 1996, CECOM gained the Information Systems Engineering Command (ISEC) at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. This gave CECOM responsibility for information technology across the full spectrum of operations, from the sustaining base to the battlespace.
- In 1997, CECOM gained direct control of Tobyhanna Army Depot from the Industrial Operations Command.
- In 2007, Central Technical Support Facility, Fort Hood, Texas, responsibility transferred to CECOM from Army CIO/G6.
- The latest change was the Army Medical Logistics Command reassignment to CECOM in 2020, with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
Social Sharing