The 13th Armored Corps Sustainment Command was constituted on 11 August 1965 in the Regular Army, and activated 24 September 1965 at Fort Cavazos, Texas as the 13th Support Brigade.

[6] As part of Army Transformation, it was reflagged to its current configuration as the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) during a formal ceremony on 23 February 2006.

The colors gold (for buff), red and blue are used in the flags of combat service support units.

The octagon is a symbol of regeneration; it alludes to the combat service support functions of the unit as consistently renewing the strength and vigor of the Corps.

In 1992, 13th COSCOM soldiers deployed to Cuba to aid Haitian refugees during Operation Safe Harbor, and later assisted victims of Hurricane Andrew in Florida.

13th ESC soldiers led the way as III Corps units deployed to Kuwait to train and ensure the peace in support of Operation Intrinsic Action.

Following the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, elements of the 13th COSCOM supported Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Elements of the 49th Movement Control Battalion have been continuously deployed in the region since 1997 and remain a critical node supporting all U.S. and coalition forces.

The 13th COSCOM uncased its colors, signifying its return home and the end of its mission, at Fort Cavazos, Texas, on 21 January 2005.

The command provided logistics oversight for the entire Iraq theater, and assumed command and control of seven subordinate brigades, which included: During OIF 06–08, the 13th ESC provided key logistical support to the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, and facilitated the movement and training of the additional 20,000 troops through Camp Buehring, Kuwait.

The 13th ESC redeployed to Fort Cavazos in August, 2007, and quickly started training and preparations for their deployment in support of OIF 09–11.

[12] The 13th ESC was faced with the largest movement of American forces and military equipment in more than 40 years to facilitate a responsible withdrawal from the Iraq theater of operation.

Over the course of a year-long deployment, the 13th ESC brought more than $1 billion worth of equipment back into the U.S. Army supply system.

During an average day for the 13th ESC in OIF 09–11, they issued 96,000 cases of bottled water, 1.6 million US gallons (6,100 m3) of fuel, and delivered 137 tons of mail.

[13] 13th COSCOM provided 100 million rations, collected human remains with dignity, executed emergency engineering operations, transported, distributed and stored over one billion dollars in humanitarian relief from both non-governmental and federal sources from across the nation.

Soldiers representing transportation companies, medical and engineer units, maintenance groups and others worked to bring stability back to the storm-ravaged city of New Orleans and, after Hurricane Rita came ashore, close to Lake Charles, La.

Upon arrival, deployed members of the unit integrated into the Deputy Command of Support Operations and served both in the headquarters of the directorate at Camp Eggers in Kabul, as well as in all five regional support commands across the country, conducting logistics training and mentoring of Afghan partners.