What is the Transportation Corps Regimental Association
The Transportation Corps Regimental Association, a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization, was formed in September 1990. It was designed to support specific objectives of the Transportation Corps Regiment. Our purpose is to promote the Transportation Corps Regiment, to preserve its history and traditions, to foster member professional development, and to provide academic scholarships.
TCRA has liability insurance with Hartford however, IAW AFI 34-223,9.2.2 we are required to notify membership that Private Organization members may have personal financial liability for obligations of the Private Organization as provided by law if the organization does not have liability insurance.
Why a Transportation Corps Regimental Association
Since the beginning of Army history, branch identification and allegiance have been a very strong bond that unites soldiers with the purpose of their mission. However, from the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the Army stressed specific specialties which eliminated Chiefs of Branches. This affected our lineage and heritage. Although soldiers wanted to maintain identity with the branch, each branch lacked a central corps to preserve and promote its heritage and traditions. As a result, the pride, prestige, and heritage of each branch was difficult to pass to each generation of new soldiers. With School Commandants placed in charge of their branches as Functional Chiefs, they have developed many programs designed to foster esprit de corps. The Army Regimental System has played a major role in restoring and instilling these Regimental traditions. Interest in the Transportation Corps Regiment has surged in recent years as Transportation soldiers and civilians, along with hundreds of members of the Transportation retired community, have taken part in Regimental ceremonies. The Transportation Corps Regimental Association provides the vehicle for staying in touch with Transportation colleagues as well as staying abreast of Corps developments.
Heritage of the Transportation Corps
The United States Army Transportation Corps is one of the Army's youngest service branches, having been established in 1942. However, the origin of its role extends far back to the Revolutionary War when in the crucial campaign General George Washington used animal-driven transportation to move American and French forces from the Hudson Valley to Yorktown, more than 450 miles away. So important was transportation in the American Revolution that Washington advised Congress to establish the position of Wagon-master General to provide the Army's essential mobility. With the Civil War came the extensive use of the military railway service in moving troops to battle.
The importance of transportation for the military increased rapidly as the U.S. Army Transport Service appeared during the Spanish American War and subsequently the Transportation Service was created in World War I. During this war, the Transportation Service carried 2 million men and their supplies to make them a fighting force across 3,000 miles of ocean. Later, when the United States entered World War II, the key role of transportation became clear.
In March 1942, military transportation functions were taken from the Quartermaster Corps and given to the Transportation Service of the newly created Services of Supply.
On 31 July 1942, President Roosevelt, faced with the largest mobilization in history, established the Transportation Corps. This new Corps took over railway operations and maintenance from the Corps of Engineers in November 1942. World War II posed immense challenges, but the newly formed Transportation Corps overcame them all.
Ultimately, the Transportation Corps conducted operations in the deserts and wastelands of North Africa, the jungles of the Pacific, the mountains and valleys of Italy and Asia, and over the beaches of Normandy. From 1941 to 1945, the Transportation Corps moved over 30 million soldiers within the United States; it also carried 7 million soldiers and 126 million tons of supplies overseas, a decisive part in the Allied victory. From 1948 to1949, the Transportation Corps again played a major role. In the Berlin Airlift, it helped to provide food and supplies to the people blockaded by the Soviet Union.
On 28 June 1950, Congress officially recognized the importance of the Transportation Corps by making it a permanent branch of the Army.
The Transportation Corps' support continued into the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, Grenada, Panama, Southwest Asia during Desert Storm, Somalia during famine relief operations, Haiti, and most recently Bosnia performing peace-keeping operations. The past accomplishments and the future vision of the Transportation Corps are testimony to the professionalism, dedication, and pride that has made the Transportation Corps the Spearhead of Logistics.
Membership is open to all military and civilian personnel of all grades in the Active and Reserve Components. Membership is open to all retirees, cadets of the service academies, military schools, and ROTC programs as well as others who subscribe to the purposes for which the Association was formed.
For more information about us - Search for:
- Presidents Bio
- TCRA Executive Council
- Constitution and By-Laws
- AUSA Agreement