The expansion includes new depot locations and aims to improve readiness by streamlining medical equipment repair and calibration for frontline units.
The US Army is preparing to expand its Home-Station Medical Maintenance Support (HMMS) program, an initiative aimed at closing gaps in medical device servicing for units that lack in-house maintenance teams.
Launched in 2024 at Fort Bragg, NC, HMMS is part of the broader Medical Logistics in Campaigning (MiC) initiative, which seeks to integrate medical logistics into the Army’s sustainment enterprise. The Army plans to open a second wave of HMMS sites soon, including Fort Benning, Ga; Fort Campbell, Ky; and the US Army Medical Materiel Agency’s (USAMMA) Medical Maintenance Operations Division (MMOD) at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pa.
“Borne out of MiC, the HMMS program is helping us align medical maintenance with existing sustainment processes of other Army commodities, saving time and money, and ensuring readiness in the process,” says Alfred Zamora, acting deputy director for HMMS, in a US Army article.
Some units have already begun using the Tobyhanna site ahead of the formal expansion. The 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Drum, NY, recently flew in more than 30 devices for servicing.
“Being the most deployed unit in the Army requires us to have top-tier maintenance, and that is what USAMMA provides us with,” says Staff Sgt. Michael Silbart, a flight paramedic with the unit, in the US Army article.
Silbart added that Fort Drum’s current facilities can’t support their specialized equipment and that flying directly to USAMMA allows for more control over the process and less chance of equipment being lost.
The ability to use Tobyhanna’s helipad reduces reliance on ground transport and also supports flight training for aviation units, says MMOD-PA director William Wall. “We’re able to accelerate delivery timelines, reduce ground transport requirements, and strengthen relationships with our customer base,” he says in the US Army article.
The Fort Bragg site currently supports over 100 active-duty and National Guard units. Future HMMS sites under consideration include Fort Carson, Colorado; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and USAMMA’s MMODs in Utah and California.
USAMMA is leading the expansion at the direction of Army Materiel Command.
