BASES -- Summary                                                                                            [p3 of 14]

HOWARD AIR FORCE BASE (1941-1999) (5,282 acres/Pacific side) (with an all-weather 8,500-foot runway)

Construction began in 1939 of Bruja Point Air Base which was renamed Howard Field later that year and Howard Air Force Base in 1962. During World War II, P-38, P-39, and P-40 fighters and B-27, B-18, B-24, B-25, B-26, and A-30 bomber aircraft operated from Howard. From 1970s through 1999, Howard supported F-15 and F-16 aircraft and C-130 Hercules aircraft manned by Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units and, 1990-1999, also E-3 (AWACS), Navy E-2 and P-3, Customs P-2, and DEA aircraft deployed to Howard to support of the Department of Defense's mission of detection and monitoring of suspected drug flights out of South America through Central America as part the U.S. Government's counterdrug efforts. From 1992-1999, Howard also hosted the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South, one of the Department of Defense's regional counter-narcotics centers. Howard was transferred to Panama on November 1, 1999.

RODMAN NAVAL STATION (1932-1999) (600 acres/ Navy/Pacific side), including Farfan Receiver Station (819 acres) and Arraijan Tank Farm (807 acres), located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal

Rodman Naval Station (U.S. Naval Station Rodman, Panama Canal) was, until 1999, the hub for all naval activities in Central and South America and supported fleet units transiting the Panama Canal. Built in 1943 at a cost of over $400 million, the Naval Station provided fuel, provisions and other support to U.S. and allied military ships passing through the Panama Canal. It was also responsible for providing security for U.S. Naval Forces transiting the Canal (including submarines and other high-value transits) and for temporary maintenance and refueling for U.S. and allied warships. Rodman carried out many vital missions over the years, including defense of the Panama Canal and refueling during World War II, round-the-clock logistical support during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, regional operations, and defense fuel management (at Gatun and Arraijan tank farms).  It was home to U.S. Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (NAVSCIATTS), the only school in the Navy that taught riverine operations and small craft maintenance in Spanish to Latin American navies and coast guards and trained U.S. experts who deploy throughout the Americas to advise their counterparts in establishing similar programs. Rodman also hosted several other small Navy commands in Panama including: Naval Special Warfare Unit 8 (Navy SEALS), Naval Small Boat Unit 26, and the Southern Detachment of the Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT Detachment South) -- the Naval component of the U.S. Southern Command. Rodman was transferred to the Government of Panama April 30, 1999.

The Marine Barracks-Panama Canal, constructed 1935-1939, was the first naval installation built on the west bank of the Pacific entrance to the Canal  (across Bruja Road from later Rodman Naval Station and also near the Inter-American Highway).  It was originally named Naval Ammunition Depot, Balboa. It was designated a separate Marine Barracks in 1941.  The Marine Barracks housed the Marines forces under the Navy in Panama.  Most of the structures there were the headquarters building, barracks building, and 25 units of family housing.  The Marine Barracks was transferred to Panama February 14, 1999.

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Site developed, owned and maintained by 

William H. Ormsbee, Jr.  2005

Howard Air Force Base -- Four hangars, 8,500-foot airfield, buildings, and housing areas.  [Photo courtesy of ARI from its website]

Howard-History 

Howard- New Uses

Rodman Naval Station -- main area, showing two of its three piers.  [Photo from 1994 SCTI pamphlet]

Rodman-History 

Rodman- New Uses

Marine Barracks
Administrative building

Marine Barracks- History 

Marine Barracks- New Uses