WHO

Extent of Relocation Actions

Since Southern Command's Air Force, Navy, and Marine component commands were already located in the United States, drawdown planning had to address relocation issues only for the Headquarters, Southern Command, its Army component, U.S. Army South (an overseas major Army command) at Fort Clayton, and its subunified Special Operations Command-South at Corozal. Thus, detailed and lengthy processes, including conducting site surveys and analyses for candidate relocation sites (as was required for relocating Headquarters, Southern Command; U.S. Army South; and Special Operations Command-South) were precluded for those component commands (listed below). Their forward-based elements were inactivated as noted in the following list of drawdown actions.

-- U.S. Southern Air Force/12th Air Force (USSOUTHAF) -- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. (The 12th Air Force, commanded by a three-star lieutenant general, is under the Tactical Air Command.) Although primarily based in Arizona, USSOUTHAF also maintained a forward element (USSOUTHAF-Forward) at Howard Air Force Base in Panama. The USSOUTHAF-Forward commander was dual-hatted as commander of the 24th Wing.

-- Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT) at Norfolk, Virginia, and commanded by a four-star Admiral. The Navy also relied on a forward element, CINCLANTFLT Detachment South at Rodman Naval Station, Panama.

-- Marine Forces South/II Marine Expeditionary Force (MARFORSOUTH) and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and commanded by a lieutenant general. SouthCom's Marine component was represented in Panama by a small planning and liaison element.

Major units inactivated or relocated

1994 drawdown actions (Military reduced from 10,400 to 9,000)

June:

Symbolic drawdown ceremony held at Fort Clayton June 3 was attended by Panama's then President Guillermo Endara, his vice presidents, cabinet, and President-elect Ernesto Perez Balladares and other dignitaries.

October:

The following units of the 193d Infantry Brigade (Light) (U.S. Army South's combat unit) were inactivated October 15:

-- Headquarters (at Fort Clayton);

-- 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry (at Fort Kobbe); and

-- 9th Engineer Company (at Fort Clayton).

-- About 700 of the brigade's 1,300 soldiers departed Panama by that date.

The brigade's other unit--the 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry with about 600 soldiers--continued its canal defense mission under U.S. Army South until its inactivation in 1996.

U.S. Army South's 41st Area Support Group and 193rd Support Battalion (at Fort Clayton) also on October 15.

Military force level of 10,400 military in February was reduced to about 9,000 by the end of 1994.