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Southern Command: Difference between revisions
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The new command eventually assumed operational responsibility over air and naval forces assigned in its area of operations during [[World War II]], which included all U.S. forces and bases in the [[Caribbean basin]] outside the [[Contiguous United States|continental United States]]. By early 1942, a Joint Operations Center had been established at Quarry Heights. Meanwhile, 960 jungle-trained officers and enlisted men from the CDC deployed to [[New Caledonia]] in the southwest Pacific to help form the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), codenamed 'Galahad' and later nicknamed [[Merrill's Marauders]] for its famous exploits in Burma.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marauder.org/|title=MERRILL'S MARAUDERS ASSOCIATION WELCOME PAGE|website=www.marauder.org}}</ref> In the meantime, military strength in the area was gradually rising and reached its peak in January 1943, when 68,000 personnel were defending the Panama Canal. Military strength was sharply reduced with the termination of World War II. Between 1946 and 1974, total military strength in Panama fluctuated between 6,600 and 20,300 (with the lowest force strength in 1959). | The new command eventually assumed operational responsibility over air and naval forces assigned in its area of operations during [[World War II]], which included all U.S. forces and bases in the [[Caribbean basin]] outside the [[Contiguous United States|continental United States]]. By early 1942, a Joint Operations Center had been established at Quarry Heights. Meanwhile, 960 jungle-trained officers and enlisted men from the CDC deployed to [[New Caledonia]] in the southwest Pacific to help form the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), codenamed 'Galahad' and later nicknamed [[Merrill's Marauders]] for its famous exploits in Burma.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marauder.org/|title=MERRILL'S MARAUDERS ASSOCIATION WELCOME PAGE|website=www.marauder.org}}</ref> In the meantime, military strength in the area was gradually rising and reached its peak in January 1943, when 68,000 personnel were defending the Panama Canal. Military strength was sharply reduced with the termination of World War II. Between 1946 and 1974, total military strength in Panama fluctuated between 6,600 and 20,300 (with the lowest force strength in 1959). | ||
In December 1946, President | In December 1946, President Harry S. Truman approved recommendations of the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] for a comprehensive system of military commands to put responsibility for conducting military operations of all military forces in various geographical areas, in the hands of a single commander. Although the [[Caribbean Command]] was designated by the Defense Department on 1 November 1947, it did not become fully operational until 10 March 1948, when the old Caribbean Defense Command was inactivated.<ref name=":0" /> | ||
On 6 June 1963, reflecting the fact that the command had a responsibility for U.S. military operations primarily in Central and South America, rather than in the Caribbean, President [[John F. Kennedy]] and Secretary of Defense [[Robert McNamara]] formally redesignated it as the United States Southern Command.<ref name=":0" /> The command's mission began to shift with the expansion of the [[Cold War]] to Latin America. Kennedy and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson expanded the division in the aftermath of the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and reoriented it towards [[irregular warfare]] against the establishment of another [[Communist state]] in the Western Hemisphere.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=N.W.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1255527666|title=Grey wars : a contemporary history of U.S. special operations|date=2021|isbn=978-0-300-25834-9|location=New Haven|oclc=1255527666}}</ref> From 1975 until late 1994 total military strength in Panama remained at about 10,000 personnel.<ref name=":0" /> | On 6 June 1963, reflecting the fact that the command had a responsibility for U.S. military operations primarily in Central and South America, rather than in the Caribbean, President [[John F. Kennedy]] and Secretary of Defense [[Robert McNamara]] formally redesignated it as the United States Southern Command.<ref name=":0" /> The command's mission began to shift with the expansion of the [[Cold War]] to Latin America. Kennedy and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson expanded the division in the aftermath of the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and reoriented it towards [[irregular warfare]] against the establishment of another [[Communist state]] in the Western Hemisphere.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=N.W.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1255527666|title=Grey wars : a contemporary history of U.S. special operations|date=2021|isbn=978-0-300-25834-9|location=New Haven|oclc=1255527666}}</ref> From 1975 until late 1994 total military strength in Panama remained at about 10,000 personnel.<ref name=":0" /> | ||