Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) traces its organizational lineage to the Army's former Office of the Chief of Transportation, established 31 July 1942.

Fourteen years later, the Defense Department established a separate agency to carry out traffic management functions.

The original MTMA did not feature port commands but did include five regional offices: eastern (Pittsburgh, PA), western (Oakland, CA), central (St. Louis, MO), southwestern (Dallas, TX), and southeastern (Atlanta, GA).

MTMTS provided support for the Vietnam War through cargo operations at its Military Ocean Terminals at Oakland CA, (MOTBA), Bayonne, New Jersey (MOTBY) and Sunny Point, NC (MOTSU) as well as commercial ports.

By 1967 as troops rotated to Vietnam in small groups or individually, fewer soldiers went by surface; most were airlifted to the theater.

As a means of easing serious congestion and ship delay, MTMTS in 1966 initiated a practice of sending full shiploads to single ports of debarkation in theater whenever possible.

On 31 July 1974, MTMTS was re-designated as the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC) to make its title more readily identifiable with its mission.

Created on 18 April 1987, TRANSCOM began official operations on 1 October 1987, as DOD's single unified transportation command.

TRANSCOM's mission was to integrate global air, land and sea transportation in support of national security objectives.

MTMC, MSC and MAC remained as major commands of their parent services and have continued to perform service-unique missions under the direction of their military departments.

[citation needed] The millions of tons of cargo and thousands of troops moved to support Operation DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM marked the largest test of the military's logistical capability since the World War II Normandy invasion.

During the Gulf War, MTMC personnel successfully managed the movement of 85% of the unit equipment shipped to Saudi Arabia.

At the peak of operations, MTMC activated 12 transportation units, 225 volunteers, and 73 Individual Mobilization Augmentees from the Reserve components to support DESERT SHIELD missions.

The Command's February 1993 reorganization created an organization that provided improved quality service and optimum strategic deployability of America's forces in support of national defense.

To replace its two area headquarters, HQMTMC planned to establish a single continental United States (CONUS) command.

In early 1997, Secretary of the Army Togo D. West reviewed the site team recommendations and decided on Fort Eustis, Virginia as the single area command's headquarters.

Continuing with its streamlining operations, MTMC began in 2000 to standardize the size and organization of its groups, battalions and companies worldwide.