United States Southern Command

Area of responsibility

The USSOUTHCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR) encompasses 32 nations (19 in Central and South America and 13 in the Caribbean), of which 31 are democracies, and 14 U.S. and European territories. As of October 2002, the area of focus covered 14.5 million square miles (23.2 million square kilometers.)

The United States Southern Command area of interest includes:

The land mass of Latin America south of Mexico

The waters adjacent to Central and South America

The Caribbean Sea, its 12 island nations and European territories, minus Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

A portion of the Atlantic Ocean

Components

USSOUTHCOM accomplishes much of its mission through its service components, four representing each service, one specializing in Special Operations missions, and three additional joint task forces:

U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command

United States Army South (ARSOUTH) forces include aviation, intelligence, communication, and logistics units. Located at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, it supports regional disaster relief and counter-drug efforts. ARSOUTH also exercises oversight, planning, and logistical support for humanitarian and civic assistance projects throughout the region in support of the USSOUTHCOM Theater Security Cooperation Strategy. ARSOUTH provides Title 10 and Executive Agent responsibilities throughout the Latin American and Caribbean region. In 2013, around four thousand troops were deployed in Latin America.

Air Forces Southern

Located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, AFSOUTH consists of a staff; a Falconer Combined Air and Space Operations Center for command and control of air activity in the USSOUTHCOM area, and an Air Force operations group responsible for Air Force forces in the area. AFSOUTH serves as the executive agent for forward operating locations; provides joint/combined radar surveillance architecture oversight; provides intra-theater airlift; and supports USSOUTHCOM's Theater Security Cooperation Strategy through regional disaster relief exercises and counter-drug operations. AFSOUTH also provides oversight, planning, execution, and logistical support for humanitarians and civic assistance projects and hosts a number of Airmen-to-Airmen conferences. Twelfth Air Force also brought the Chief of Staff of the Air Force's Warfighting Headquarters (WFHQ) concept to life. The WFHQ was composed of a command and control element, an Air Force forces staff and an Air Operations Center. Operating as a WFHQ since June 2004, Twelfth Air Force has served as the Air Force model for the future of Combined Air and Space Operations Centers and WFHQ Air Force forces.

In September 2024 Twelfth Air Force was disestablished, and a new Air Forces Southern, technically an organisation with no previous history, established to continue the SOUTHCOM task.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command & U.S. Fourth Fleet

Located at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, USNAVSO exercises command and control over all U.S. naval operations in the USSOUTHCOM area including naval exercises, maritime operations, and port visits. USNAVSO is also the executive agent for the operation of the cooperative security location at Comalapa, El Salvador, which provides basing in support of aerial counter-narcoterrorism operations.

On 24 April 2008, Admiral Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, announced that the United States Fourth Fleet would be re-established, effective 1 July, responsible for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and submarines operating in the Caribbean Sea, as well as Central and South America. Rear Admiral Joseph D. Kernan was named as the fleet commander and Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. Up to four ships are deployed in the waters in and around Latin America, at any given time.

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South

Located in Doral, Florida, USMARFORSOUTH commands all United States Marine Corps Forces (MARFORs) assigned to USSOUTHCOM; advises USSOUTHCOM on the proper employment and support of MARFORs; conducts deployment/redeployment planning and execution of assigned/attached MARFORs; and accomplishes other operational missions as assigned.

Special Operations Command South

Located at Homestead Air Reserve Base near Miami, Florida, Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) provides the primary theater contingency response force and plans, prepares for, and conducts special operations in support of USSOUTHCOM. USSOCSOUTH controls all Special Operations Forces in the region and also establishes and operates a Joint Special Operations Task Force when required. As a Theater Special Operations Command (TSOC), USSOCSOUTH is a sub-unified command of USSOUTHCOM.

SOCSOUTH has five assigned or attached subordinate commands including "Charlie" Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (7th SFG(A)); "Charlie" Company, 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne); Naval Special Warfare Unit FOUR; 112th Signal Detachment SOCSOUTH; and Joint Special Operations Air Component-South.

There are also three task forces with specific missions in the region that report to U.S. Southern Command:

Joint Task Force Bravo

Located at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, Joint Task Force (JTF) -Bravo operates a forward, all-weather day/night C-5-capable airbase. JTF – Bravo organizes multilateral exercises and supports, in cooperation with partner nations, humanitarian and civic assistance, counter-drug, contingency and disaster relief operations in Central America.

Joint Task Force Guantanamo

Located at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, JTF – Guantanamo conducts detention and interrogation operations in support of the war on terrorism, coordinates and implements detainee screening operations, and supports law enforcement and war crimes investigations as well as Military Commissions for Detained Enemy Combatants. JTF – Guantanamo is also prepared to support mass migration operations at Naval Station GTMO.

Joint Interagency Task Force South

Located in Key West, Florida, JIATF South is an interagency task force that serves as the catalyst for integrated and synchronized interagency counter-drug operations and is responsible for the detection and monitoring of suspect air and maritime drug activity in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the eastern Pacific. JIATF- South also collects, processes, and disseminates counter-drug information for interagency operations. Manta Air Base was one of JIATF-South's bases, in Ecuador until 19 September 2009.

History

The first U.S. troops that arrived in Panama were Marines, in 1903. The 10th Infantry Regiment arrived in 1911 to form the core of the Panama Canal Guard. The first overall headquarters for forces at both ends of the Canal was HQ U.S. Troops, Panama Canal Zone, established in 1915. It was superseded by the Panama Canal Department on 1 July 1917, almost three months after the American entry into World War I.

The Panama Canal Department remained as the senior Army headquarters in the region until activation of the Caribbean Defense Command (CDC) on 10 February 1941. The CDC, co-located at Quarry Heights, was commanded by Lieutenant General Daniel Van Voorhis, who continued to command the Panama Canal Department.

The new command eventually assumed operational responsibility over air and naval forces throughout its area of operations. During World War II, the CDC included all U.S. forces and bases in the Caribbean basin outside the Contiguous United States. General Orders No. 8, issued 29 May 1941, set the boundaries of the command as, "islands in or bordering the Caribbean Sea, the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and the countries of Central America (except Mexico)." The same General Order created three sectors: the Trinidad, the Puerto Rican and the Panama Sectors. The core of the new command was from the Panama Canal Department.

On June 1, 1943, the Puerto Rican Department was renamed the Antilles Department, and its territorial limits were extended to include the bases in the British West Indies and British Guiana leased by the United States from the United Kingdom in September 1940. The area of these bases was collectively called, for tactical purposes, the Trinidad Sector, and in January 1944 it was extended to include the Aruba-Curaçao subsector and territory in Venezuela west of Caracas. The Headquarters of the two successive Departments was at San Juan, P.R."

During this time the Sixth Air Force was a part of the CDC. 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. 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. The Antilles Air Command was established in a CDC reorganisation - its Puerto Rico and Panama Sectors became the Antilles Air Task Force in February, 1943. It was redesignated the Antilles Air Command June 1943.

State Partnership Program

US SOUTHCOM currently has 22 state partnerships under the state partnership program (SPP). SPP creates a partnership between a state of the U.S. and a foreign nation by linking the host nation military or security forces with the National Guard. SOUTHCOM is equaled only by EUCOM in its number of partnerships.

Commanders

The U.S. Southern Command was activated in 1963, emerging from the U.S. Caribbean Command, established in 1947. Last commander of the U.S. Caribbean Command from January 1961 to June 1963 and first commander of the U.S. Southern Command since June 1963 was Lieutenant General–later General–Andrew P. O'Meara.