Postwar Division History

After Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945, and Victory over Japan Day on August 14, 1945, World War II was officially over. The 103rd Infantry Division was deactivated on September 22, 1945. The Division remained inactive until reactivated as a Reserve Division on May 7, 1947, with its headquarters located in Des Moines, Iowa.

The 103rd Infantry Division remained a Reserve Infantry Division until December 31, 1965, when it was re-designated the 103rd Support Brigade. On September 30, 1977, this brigade was re-designated the 103rd Corps Support Command to provide combat service support to an Army Corps and other forces as deemed necessary. Despite the numerous command and name changes, the “cactus” patch remained unchanged. On September 15th, 1993, the 103rd Corps Support Command was deactivated.  As a result, two new reserve units were created: the 19th Theater Army Area Command (CONUS) and the 3rd Corps Support Command (CONUS).

On February 14th, 2006, the 103rd was re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 103rd Sustainment Command. The 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) was activated as a reserve command, effective September 16, 2006. The 103rd ESC is one of seven general officer ESC's in the Army Reserve. Its soldiers support diverse missions, many of which are logistical.  It is comprised of almost seventy-five Army Reserve units and has command and control of more than six thousand Army Reservists throughout the Midwestern United States, including Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The 103rd ESC completed reorganization on September 16, 2007. The unit assumed command and control of all subordinate units on October 1st of that same year. The 103rd ESC provides trained and ready sustainment forces supporting global contingency operations. The 103rd ESC is prepared to deploy and provide sustainment planning, guidance, and support to forces in any area of operations. In April 2010, the 103rd ESC was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. In August 2019 the 103rd ESC was deployed to the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as part of Operation Spartan Shield.