HRC was formed on Oct. 1, 2003, by merging the personnel assets of U.S. Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) and the United States Army Reserve Personnel Command (AR-PERSCOM). Establishing HRC as a field operating agency of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, G-1, enhanced the potential of every federal Soldier in the Army. A single organization would now manage the careers of Active and Reserve Soldiers.

The major elements of HRC are the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate (EPMD), which provides Active and Reserve enlisted Soldiers with career guidance and support; the Officer Personnel Management Directorate (OPMD), which provides Active and Reserve officers with career guidance and support; The Adjutant General Directorate (TAGD), which manages Soldiers' records, promotion boards, evaluation processing, personnel actions and entitlement programs, and Veterans' support; the Personnel Information Systems Directorate (PERSINSD), which provides Information Technology support to command functions; and various staff elements, including the G3 (Operations), Resource Management, Chief Information Officer, Surgeon, Inspector General, and Judge Advocate.

HRC includes more than 40 operational elements around the country under the leadership of the HRC commander. HRC is the G-1's functional proponent for military personnel management (except for The Judge Advocate General and the Chaplain branches) and personnel systems. HRC also supports the Director, Army National Guard, and the Chief, Army Reserve, in their management of the Selected Reserve.

The HRC commander is the commander of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), the Standby Reserve and the Retired Reserve.

Move to Fort Knox

In 2005, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) recommended the creation of the Human Resources Center of Excellence at Fort Knox, Ky., and directed HRC elements in Alexandria, Va.; Indianapolis; and St. Louis; to move to the new facility no later than Sept. 15, 2011. The bulk of HRC activities relocated to Fort Knox over the summer of 2010, and the move is now complete. Operations are now run from Fort Knox.