As the first public announcement of military property transfers under TIP, the Department of Defense and SouthCom formally announced on January 14, 1993, the 1993-1995 transfers of military property to the Government of Panama and concurrent military personnel drawdown actions. The general schedule for the subsequent transfers through 1999 was announced by SouthCom in mid-1994, with adjustments to the schedule having been announced as appropriate.

Several facilities were held until the final year and some units were held back because of U.S. military operations and discussions of possibly establishing a multinational counterdrug center (MCC) at Howard Air Force Base, where SouthCom had been running the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force-South counternarcotics center in various forms since 1992. (During President Ernesto Perez Balladares' visit with President Clinton in September 1995 in Washington,  the two Presidents agreed to launch exploratory talks to determine whether their national and joint interests and potential benefits in a reduced post-1999 U.S. military presence in Panama warrant initiating formal conversations. Shortly thereafter, President Perez Balladares proposed that a regional MCC be established at Howard Air Force Base and be operated by the U.S. military with its expertise and appropriate equipment. Following the breakdown of negotiations and the final decision in 1998 by both governments that such an agreement could not be concluded, the U.S. military then continued its drawdown and preparing bases for transfer within a few months after being vacated.) The remaining bases and other facilities were transferred on schedule by early December 1999.

Military Property Transfer Process

The transfer of military installations and other properties in Panama to the Government of Panama in accordance with the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and related agreements was conducted under the Department of the Army's November 1, 1995 , Policy Guidance for the Transfer of DoD Installations to the Government of Panama. That policy memorandum, issued by the Department of the Army as the Department of Defense Executive Agent for Panama Canal Treaty Implementation, provided comprehensive policy guidance for such property transfers.

The major steps in the transfer process were:

1. Identification: The Department of Defense (DoD) determined property that is excess to requirements; notifies Congress via the U.S. Embassy and State Department.
2. Preparation: DoD prepared documentation on description and condition to property, and eliminated hazards as required.
3. Consultation: DoD notified the Government of Panama, provided documentation, sought mutual agreement, and provided for site visits.
4. Transfer: The U.S. Embassy transferred the property to the Government of Panama via exchange of diplomatic notes.

The Department of Defense's goal, as stated in that policy guidance, was to successfully fulfill its Treaty obligations, with the objectives of transferring installations to the Government of Panama in the most efficient and economical manner possible, while supporting Panamanian reuse of transferred DoD installations. While the Treaty or associated documents did permit U.S. removal of removable property prior to the transfer of an installation, to support DoD objectives that policy guidance permitted excess DoD removable property be considered for transfer to the Government of Panama, along with the installation, if permitted by applicable property disposal laws and regulations. The U.S. Co-Chairman of the Joint Committee was to coordinate such issues with the U.S. Embassy in Panama .

Treaty Language on Property Transfers

Environmental Considerations

Extensive preparations were conducted of all properties and facilities prior to actual transfer, including coordination with the U.S. Embassy, the Joint Committee, ARI and other appropriate Panamanian agencies. The property transfer process included a three-part environmental strategy for each major facility or installation:

In determining what is practicable, as stated in the Department of the Army's Policy Guidance for the Transfer of DoD Installations to the Government of Panama, the military service component commanders must consider factors which include, but not limited to, whether a hazard poses a known imminent and substantial danger to human life, health and safety; the cost of removing the hazard; the time required to remove the hazard; any adverse effects upon the environment from removing the hazard; and the technology available. Removing a hazard, stated the policy guidance, may take the form of containing, controlling, or physically removing the condition or substance creating the hazard, taking into account the practicality of such measures. Such practice is followed by the U.S. military in the United States and elsewhere abroad.

An Installation Condition Report was prepared for each major facility or installation by the military service controlling it prior to transfer and provided to Panama.  In addition to describing the facility/installation, its use over time, and property value, the Installation Condition Report characterized the environmental condition of the property as well as any hazards encountered and how they were mitigated.

Training Ranges

Because of the hazardous nature of training range lands (Empire and Balboa West ranges on the Pacific side and Piña range on the Atlantic side), their transfer required special attention.

Over 90 percent of the total range land is covered by rainforest, most of which is double or triple canopy jungle that serves to help preserve the watershed of the Panama Canal.  Besides providing an important habitat for rare flora and fauna (including 56 animal species protected by Panamanian law as well as several endangered plant species), these rainforest areas are critical for helping to prevent the fragile soil from eroding into the many rivers and streams that flush into the Canal system. That area contains one of the best examples of semi-deciduous and deciduous forest remaining along the Pacific coat of Mexico and Central America . (Endnote 1 -- See endnotes  at the end of this section.)

Those training ranges (with a total area of about 55,070 acres or about 22,200 hectares) were used for several decades by U.S. and allied military forces for maneuver exercises of units, for marskmanship and weapons familiarization mandatory for all military personnel, and for military exercises, including live fire training using various types of weapons and ordnance. The majority of the range lands were used for training by maneuver units with no live fire activities within those maneuver areas and hence not considered hazardous as are the smaller impact (target) areas.

Range Transfer Program

As detailed engineering studies of the ranges (1995-1997) contracted by the U.S. military had shown, current technology does not exist to entirely clear the impact areas of unexploded ordnance without seriously damaging the environment (destroying the ecology, the rain forest, and part of the Canal watershed which would affect future canal operations) and unacceptably risking the lives of cleanup personnel. (Endnote 2)

Therefore,  the U.S. military implemented a three-step range transfer program in compliance with the Panama Canal Treaty (Endnote 3):