JULY 11, 2022 – The United States Army Reserve in Puerto Rico celebrates its 100th anniversary with an official ceremony at Fort Buchanan, July 9.
Military and civilian people gathered in front of the headquarters of the 1st Mission Support Command to commemorate the occasion.
“The distinctive service rendered by our service members for the past 100 years are too many to cite them all today, but suffice it to say that it includes the recipients of nine medals of honor, and thousands of our bothers and sisters who paid the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our freedoms and fight tyranny wherever it existed across the globe,” said Col. Carlos Caceres, 1st MSC commanding officer.
During the ceremony, the officials highlighted the history of the organization and 15 soldiers were awarded humanitarian medals for their service during disaster relief efforts in the island.
At the end of the ceremony, the command hosted a job fair and the Blood Bank of Puerto Rico offered services as a blood component collection center. Veterans organizations and 1st MSC special programs also supported the event by offering services.
For 100 years, the U.S. Army Reserve in Puerto Rico has supported U.S. national security interests by providing key and essential capabilities that the Total Army and Joint Force need to dominate in the battlefield.
While its mission is to leverage unique capabilities to support the Army in winning the Nation’s wars, being strategically located in the Caribbean, enables the command to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations when requested by allies and partners.
Today the organization employs 5,000 citizen-soldiers and annually injects about $300 million into the local economy.
Story by Staff Sgt. Katherine Ramos Muniz
1st Mission Support Command