35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (2024)

The mission of the 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion is to deploy to an area of operation anywhere in the world and provide command and control of assigned and attached units in order to execute proactive combat sustainment support operations. These include the defense of Japan, humanitarian operations, and disaster relief operations. The Battalion's mission essential task list included: Conducting deployment operations, protecting the force, relocating unit area of operations, establishing unit area of operations, providing and sustaining Combat Service Support, commanding and controlling the force, and conducting reception, staging, and onward movement operations.

On 1 May 1959, the General Depot organization was discontinued and the Sagami installation was renamed the US Army Japan Depot Complex. The principal effect of the reorganization was to place the executive direction of the supply and maintenance activities of the technical services with the chiefs of those services at Headquarters, US Army Japan (USARJ). It remained in this organizational posture until the organization of the US Army Depot, Japan on 11 March 1963 under General Order Number 10, dated 7 March 1963, which discontinued the technical services logistics system at Sagami.

On 1 September 1969, the US Army Depot Command, Japan was discontinued and the existing organizational elements of the Depot Command and the staff elements of Headquarters, USARJ were merged into a single unified USARJ organization operated under a directorate-type structure in which staff and operational functions were combined until the activation on 7 August 1971 of the US Army Supply and Maintenance Activity (Provisional), Sagami (USASMAS). Concurrently, the USARJ, Directorate for Supply and Storage (less the US Army Ammunition Depot Complex, Akizuki), Directorate for Maintenance, and Directorate for Quality and Engineering were designated as organizational elements of USASMAS.

The provisional organization became permanent on 15 February 1972. USASMAS was reduced on 1 July 1973 by the transfer of its Property Disposal (PDO) function to Defense Supply Agency (DSA), which utilized the personnel and facilities to establish Defense Property Disposal Region-Pacific. Then, on 1 April 1974, upon completion of its support mission for tactical wheeled vehicles, which were procured in Japan for Southeast Asian MAP recipient countries, the Directorate of Quality and Engineering was deactivated.

On 1 July 1974, due to termination of the missions in support of Southeast Asia, the US Army Supply and Maintenance Activity, Sagami was inactivated and the residual supply and maintenance functions were assigned to the Directorate of Industrial Operations, US Army Garrison, Honshu which was activated on the same day as a subordinate command of USARJ. USARJ at the time was a subordinate command of US Army Pacific (USARPAC).

With the discontinuance of USARPAC on 31 December 1974, USARJ was designated a major Army command on 1 January 1975, leaving USARJ with 2 subordinate commands, US Army Garrison, Okinawa and US Army Garrison, Honshu.

US Army Garrison, Honshu, was redesignated the 9th Area Support Group (Provisional) on 16 January 1986. The 35th Supply and Service Battalion (Provisional), located at Sagami Depot, also, was established on this date. The 9th Area Support Group terminated its provisional status on 15 October 1987, and was reflagged as the 17th Area Support Group. The 35th Supply and Service Battalion (Provisional) also dropped its provisional status on 15 October 1987 and was activated as the 35th Supply and Service Battalion.

Headquartered at Sagami General Depot, the 35th Supply and Service Battalion's mission was to maintain Army prepositioned and Operational Project Stocks for all classes of supply except ammunition. The value of installation and war reserve stocks on hand was approximately $300 million. Critical prepositioned stocks and equipment were stored at the depot for use by US Army Japan (USARJ) and 9th Theater Support Command subordinate commands and US forces that might deploy to Japan, as well as stocks able to be provided to US allies and partners in the event of hostilities.

The 35th Supply and Service Battalion maintained APS 3 and 4 Stocks and Equipment in support of contingencies across the full spectrum of military operations. It provided logistics and site support to Joint and Bilateral exercises throughout Japan, and provided installation management and support to 14 activities on the Sagami General Depot. The Battalion ensured quality of life for 1,200 soldiers, civilians and their family members.

With the restructuring and drawdown of US forces in the pacific region, the 17th Area Support Group was inactivated. The 35th Supply and Service Battalion was also inactivated. It was subsequently reorganized and redesignated on 16 October 2006 as the 35th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion and reactivated assigned to the reorganized and redesignated 10th Support Group, USARJ.