Sustainment Brigades were created as part of the early 21st century transformation of the United States Army from a division-based structure to a brigade-based army.

The sustainment brigade is a flexible headquarters that is task organized to support unified land operations and command subordinate sustainment organizations. It is task organized with a combination of combat sustainment support battalions and functional logistics battalions^[1] It is a multifunctional headquarters that integrates and employs sustainment units while planning and synchronizing sustainment operations.The sustainment brigade supports Army forces at the tactical and operational levels, providing support to brigade combat teams (BCTs), multifunctional and functional support brigades, deployable, self-contained division and corps headquarters, and other units operating in its assigned support area. The brigade is primarily concerned with the continuous management and distribution of stocks, human resources support, execution of financial management support, and allocation of maintenance in the AO to provide operational reach to maneuver commanders.