Misplaced Pages

#471528

50-522: United States Army South is an Army service component command of United States Southern Command whose area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in Central and South America and the Caribbean. It is headquartered at Fort Sam Houston , Texas. U.S. Army South's currently officially stated mission is to conduct and support multinational operations and security cooperation in

100-549: A comprehensive system of military commands that put responsibility for military operations in various geographical areas in the hands of a single commander. Therefore, the United States Caribbean Command was established on 1 November 1947. On 15 November 1947, the Panama Canal Department became U.S. Army Caribbean (USARCARIB), headquartered at Fort Amador. One of its primary missions from 1951 to 1999,

150-486: A larger Army transformation in response to the demands of post-9/11 operations worldwide, U.S. Army South merged with U.S. Army South ( Sixth Army ) on 16 July 2008, a change that expanded its size and capabilities to include an Operational Command Post (OCP) that could serve as the nucleus of a Joint Task Force (JTF) or Joint Forces Land Component Command (JFLCC) headquarters anywhere in the U.S. Southern Command Area of Responsibility. In addition, U.S. Army South incorporated

200-540: A mechanized battalion from the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) , based at Fort Polk, Louisiana ; this battalion was attached to the Brigade, forming Task Force Bayonet. Later in the fall of 1989, the Brigade instituted an intensive training program to prepare for combat operations, which seemed increasingly likely after the failure of the second coup, in October. In December 1989, two years of diplomatic tension between Panama and

250-565: A street-to-street engagement in Siegburg . Pushing on toward Düsseldorf through difficult terrain and heavy resistance in densely wooded areas, the Division captured Solingen . Düsseldorf fell on the next day and the Ruhr pocket was eliminated. 97th Reconnaissance Troop played a vital role in the Ruhr campaign. Besides its customary reconnaissance and patrolling duties, the unit once was charged with protecting

300-462: A theater army headquarters is the army service component command assigned to a geographic combatant command . It is organized, manned and equipped to perform 3 roles: A theater army is responsible for the administration and support of all United States Army forces assigned, attached, under the operational control of a geographic combatant command or transitioning to that area of responsibility (AOR). For example, United States Army Central (Formerly

350-534: The 97th Division . The brigade was converted and redesignated in February 1942 as the 97th Reconnaissance Troop , 97th Division. In February 1943, the Troop was ordered into active military service and organized at Camp Swift , Texas. It was reorganized and redesignated in October 1945 as the 97th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop. The 97th Reconnaissance Troop landed at Le Havre , France, 2 March 1945 as part of

400-473: The Panama Defense Force . Movements off post were often restricted, armed confrontations occurred frequently and quality of life declined. Panamanian provocations, intended to deny freedom of movement rights that were guaranteed by treaty, steadily escalated. Americans were increasingly detained without charges and held without communication. At one point, several school buses full of dependent children on

450-552: The United States Southern Command area of responsibility in order to counter transnational threats and strengthen regional security in defense of the homeland. It may be still required to serve as a Joint Task Force Land Component Command or Joint Task Force, as directed. The Isthmian Canal Commission of 1904–1914 and the Panama Canal Guard both played a pivotal role in the construction and early defense of

500-708: The World War II formation of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHEAF), coordinating the strategy and operation of multiple service branches . As of 2024, the United States Department of Defense has established 11 of these CCMDs, composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces , and conducts broad and continuing missions. For any such CCMDs that include units of

550-522: The 193d, tactically organized as Task Force Bayonet, was twofold. The defensive component required the protection of an extensive complex of US military bases, family housing tracts and Panama Canal Commission facilities that stretched over an area of 20 kilometers. This included protection of the vital Miraflores and Pedro Miguel lock complexes. Simultaneously, the Brigade was responsible for an offensive area of operations that encompassed half of Panama City and its 1.1 million inhabitants. Within this area,

SECTION 10

#1732872217472

600-421: The 193d; in order to reach that level, USSOUTHCOM directed that the Brigade's field artillery battery be inactivated and its personnel – and their families – be immediately shipped out of country. During this period TF Bayonet became what is believed to be the largest combat brigade-sized unit in post-WWII history, controlling at one period seven infantry battalions – just two shy of what a full division commanded at

650-512: The 1st and 2d Battalions, 187th Infantry were assigned to the 193d Infantry Brigade in Panama as a result of reflagging the 4th Battalion, 10th Infantry and the 3d Battalion, 5th Infantry, respectively. Company A(Moatengators), 2d Battalion, 187th Infantry was on jump status and later this was expanded to the entire battalion. During a realignment of the United States Army's combat forces in 1987

700-528: The 97th Infantry Division. In 1961, after the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion and rumors of Soviet assistance to Cuba , Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided to bolster available U.S. Army forces in the Caribbean area. The Army replaced the battle group in the Panama Canal Zone with the 193d Infantry Brigade, which was activated on 8 August 1962. Through most of the period of its assignment to

750-668: The 97th Infantry Division. The Division crossed the German border west of Aachen and took up a defensive position along the west bank of the Rhine River opposite Düsseldorf , engaging in patrolling. The division then entered the battle of the Ruhr pocket, crossing the Rhine near Bonn and taking up a position on the southern bank of the Siege River. It crossed that river against light resistance and fought

800-512: The Brigade's initial offensive task was to isolate and eliminate all PDF units (police, military and para-military) in the areas Fort Amador, Ancon Hill, Balboa, and Chorrillo. Of primary importance was the Commandancia , which was to be taken in a coup de main . Other objectives within this area included: the PDF's Engineer Battalion compound, that part of Fort Amador occupied by the PDF 5th Company and

850-625: The Canal Zone, the 193d included the following units: Additionally, there were other units, such as the School of the Americas (Fort Gulick), 3d Battalion, 7th Special Forces (Fort Gulick), and Jungle Operations Training Center (Fort Sherman) that were not assigned to the 193d but had an habitual relationship and rating scheme for their commanders and/or senior officers tantamount to assignment. There were other units assigned at different times. For example,

900-590: The Canal Zone; a change in designation for the brigade to 193rd Infantry Brigade (Panama), resulting in the beginning of the process of reorganizing from a heavy to a light infantry brigade; and a headquarters move from Fort Amador to Fort Clayton . On 4 December 1986, the United States Army South was activated as a Major Army Command and the Army component of United States Southern Command, with headquarters at Building 95, Fort Clayton. Operation Just Cause ,

950-803: The Canal's locks. Army aircraft patrolled the Caribbean Sea searching for enemy German submarines. After the Second World War ended, the Panama Canal Department was re-designated the United States Army Caribbean on 15 November 1947, following inactivation of the Caribbean Defense Command and reorganization of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (now an independent service) in the Canal Zone under the newly activated United States Army Caribbean. In December 1946, President Harry Truman approved

1000-535: The Canal. The Panama Canal Guard was active from 1907 to 1917. On 1 July 1917, the Panama Canal Department was established as a separate geographic command with headquarters at Quarry Heights. Units included the 19th Brigade, composed of the 14th and 33rd Infantry , the 42nd Field Artillery , the 11th Engineers , and special troops. In the late thirties, events in Europe and technological developments, such as

1050-626: The Caribbean area in 1961, after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and rumours of Soviet assistance to Cuba . The Army reinforced the resident 1st Battle Group , 20th Infantry Regiment in the Panama Canal Zone with the 193d Infantry Brigade , which was activated on 8 August 1962. On 6 June 1963, the United States Caribbean Command (the theater command) was re-designated as the United States Southern Command , to reflect primary responsibility in Central and South America, versus

SECTION 20

#1732872217472

1100-651: The Caribbean, and one that fought a series of famous battles in the Pacific theater of the Second World War. U.S. Army South administers Post Isolation Support Activities (PISA), a 10-day program at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, to help former hostages acclimate back to regular life. The organizational makeup of the command in 2019 was as follows; Army Service Component Command The concept of unified combatant commands grew out of

1150-603: The Caribbean. Meanwhile, the United States Army Caribbean was re-designated the United States Army Forces Southern Command. During the 1970s, the troop strengths averaged between 10,000 and 14,000 soldiers. Implementation of the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977 on 1 October 1979, brought with it the following changes: a new arrangement for the defense of the Panama Canal; the disestablishment of

1200-668: The Gulf of Mexico on 1 June 1997. Within this framework, United States Army South's geographical area of responsibility expanded to now include today, 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in Latin America and the Caribbean, except Puerto Rico and Mexico. In 1998, United States Army South units participated in 15 platoon exchanges at the Jungle Operation Training Center with soldiers from Belize, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay. As part of

1250-643: The Pacific, arriving at Cebu , Philippines , 16 September, and then sailed to Japan for occupation duty, arriving at Yokohama 23 September. 97th Mechanized Reconnaissance Troop inactivated March 1946 in Japan. (Organized Reserves redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps; redesignated 9 July 1952 as the Army Reserve.) Converted and redesignated July 1962 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade and relieved from assignment to

1300-745: The Panamanian Army headquarters; the Balboa and Ancon DENI (Panama's National Defense of Investigations) and Balboa Department of Transportation (DNTT) stations. Although the 193d Infantry Brigade (Light) was, by TO&E, only a small brigade, as a result of various augmentations leading up to JUST CAUSE, in its role as TF Bayonet it ended up being the largest brigade-sized task force in JUST CAUSE. The various units that comprised TF Bayonet on D-Day were: Note that TF Bayonet had neither an organic forward support battalion nor normal combat service support units, as

1350-493: The Third United States Army) which is a theater army is responsible for the administration and support of all U.S. Army forces assigned, attached, under the operational control of United States Central Command , or transitioning into its area of responsibility. The theater army also provides most of the administrative control and army support to forces deployed in the joint operations area. In addition to these functions

1400-542: The U.S. Army, an ASCC is attached. In addition, in the event that the overall combatant commander creates a subordinate unified command within their CCMD, the Department of the Army will form a matching Army component headquarters. In matching, the Secretary of the Army also has the authority to redirect service responsibilities outside of Army Service Command Component channels (to one of the other service branches attached to

1450-467: The United States came to a head. In a speech to a gathering of his supporters, General Manuel Noriega – the head of the PDF and de facto dictator of Panama – declared that a state of war existed between the United States and Panama. This might well have been dismissed as simply more of his defiant, anti-U.S. rhetoric, were it not for two events that followed within a matter of hours. A U.S. Marine officer

1500-527: The United States military action used to depose Panamanian dictator, General Manuel Antonio Noriega , was officially conducted from 20 December 1989 to 31 January 1990. United States Army South Headquarters became the headquarters for Joint Task Force-South , the headquarters designated to execute the operation. During the Panama Invasion the total troop numbers increased to 27,000. Of these, 13,000 were already stationed in Panama and 14,000 were flown in from

1550-520: The United States. On 14 October 1994 the 193d Infantry Brigade was the first major unit to inactivate in accordance with the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 which mandated U.S. Forces withdrawal from Panama by December 1999. As part of a Unified Command Plan change, United States Southern Command also assumed geographic responsibility for U.S. military forces operating in the Caribbean Basin and

United States Army South - Misplaced Pages Continue

1600-501: The aircraft carrier and long-range bombers, precipitated construction of more modern defences, a network of roads, and Albrook Field . By 1939, the military strength in the Canal Zone was about 14,000 and by early 1940, the troop strength rose to almost 28,000. In January 1943, the troop strength peaked at just over 67,000, as the Coastal Defense Network grew to include machine guns, barrage balloons, and smoke machines protected

1650-547: The brigade had, for most of the 1960s a mixed HAWK missile and M42 Duster battalion, 4th Battalion, 517th Artillery (Battery A at Fort Davis, Dusters; Battery B, Fort Clayton, Dusters; Battery C, HAWKs, Flamenco Island; and Battery D, HAWK, Fort Sherman). The brigade was also staffed heavily enough as to permit it to command the 92d and 53d Infantry Brigades (Separate) from the Puerto Rico and Florida National Guard , respectively. In 1977, in order to improve command and control over

1700-531: The colors of the 1st and 2d Battalions were inactivated in Panama and reactivated at Fort Campbell , KY. This resulted in 2-187th being reflagged as the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry while 1-187th was reflagged as the 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry . Beginning in early 1988, after the first coup attempt against Noriega failed, life for the soldiers and families of the Brigade became increasingly difficult due to civil unrest in Panama City and harassment by

1750-489: The combatant commander to employ across the scope of military operations. Each theater army supports the Army strategic roles—prevent, shape, and win—and facilitates the use of landpower in JTFs Theater Armies exercise operational control of all army forces under its command until the combatant commander attaches units to a subordinate joint command. The theater army retains administrative control of all army forces in

1800-568: The command regardless of whether the theater army has operational control over them; this responsibility extends to the entirety of the U.S. Army. The theater army commander remains responsible to the Department of the Army for Service-specific requirements. This falls under the ADCON chain of authority Responsibilities of a Service component are determined from Title 10 ; DODD 5101.1; DA Memo 1-10; and combatant commander’s daily operational requirements. These responsibilities may include: Additionally,

1850-509: The entire left flank of the division. Moving to protect the left flank of the Third Army on its southern drive, the 97th Division took Cheb , Czechoslovakia and attacked the Czechoslovak pocket near Weiden , Germany. It had advanced to Konstantinovy Lázně , Czechoslovakia, when it received the cease-fire order on 7 May 1945. The Division left for Le Havre, 16 June 1945, for redeployment to

1900-515: The lineage and heraldry from Sixth U.S. Army. While U.S. Army South received an exception to policy from the Army Chief of Staff to retain its distinctive Spanish galleon insignia, its colors were merged with 6th Army's to mark the new, combined lineage and heraldry of the two historic organizations—one that played a pivotal role in the security of the Panama Canal and the broader region of Latin America and

1950-409: The numerous combat support and combat service support units, the 193d Combat Support Battalion (CSB) was activated within the brigade. The 193d CSB commanded a wide variety of units, to include the 193d Military Intelligence Company (Combat Electronic Warfare and Intelligence - CEWI), the 1097th Transportation Company (Medium Boat), and even a field artillery unit (Battery D, 320th FA). In October 1983,

2000-532: The second coup attempt. At 1800 hours, 19 December 1989, TF Bayonet received from JTF-SOUTH the order to execute Operation JUST CAUSE, with an H-Hour of 0100 hours, 20 December. Because the JUST CAUSE OPLAN had been classified at the top secret level, only a small number of the Brigade's leaders were familiar with its contents. After combat operation ceased, a political decision to rapidly drawdown US forces to their pre-invasion levels had an unexpected impact on

2050-467: The subordinate CCMD). The Command itself may also redirect administrative responsibility outside Army forces. ASCCs also server administrative control for some of its functions, this is also typically true among Reserve Component forces. Shared administrative control also applies to direct reporting units of the Army that typically perform single or unique functions. Four types of command authority can be distinguished: According to U.S. Army Doctrine ,

United States Army South - Misplaced Pages Continue

2100-477: The theater army has a significant role in: coordinating, supporting, integrating all formations above brigade forces into geographic combatant command plans for that area of responsibility, and providing common-user logistics and Army executive agent services for all Army and joint forces operating in that AOR. The theater army is also responsible for distribution, recovery, and redistribution of supplies and equipment in joint operations areas. The theater army enables

2150-473: The theater army is also responsible for administrative control of all U.S. Army forces in that AOR during times of peace and war. 193rd Infantry Brigade (United States) The 193rd Infantry Brigade is a United States Army infantry brigade, which was originally constituted in the Army's organized reserves on 24 June 1922 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade and assigned to

2200-485: The time. It managed this task – over the extreme distances noted above – without the benefit of a dedicated support battalion, and the logistical improvisation required was little short of genius. Within several more months, the rest of the augmentation forces were withdrawn. The 193d Infantry Brigade however, remained in Panama and continued to provide a military presence. On 14 October 1994 after more than 32 years of providing ground defense for Panama, 193d Infantry Brigade

2250-445: The way to school were commandeered by the PDF and held for hours. This harassment culminated after the abortive Panamanian elections during the summer of 1989, when all off-post personnel were moved on-post, resulting in families having to double or triple up in on-post quarters. As part of the fall-out from the aborted Panamanian elections, the Army sent a package of augmentation forces to Panama (Operation NIMROD DANCER)- which included

2300-513: Was 'honored' as the first major unit to inactivate in accordance with the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, treaty implementation plan, which mandated U.S. Forces withdrawal from Panama by December 1999. On 31 January 2007, the 193rd Infantry Brigade was reactivated at Fort Jackson , South Carolina with the mission to conduct basic combat training for new entrants to the Army. It has replaced the 171st Infantry Brigade in this task; however, both

2350-455: Was doctrine at the time. Limited support was provided by the 41st Area Support Group (which had theater-wide responsibilities), but lacking a dedicated Forward Support Battalion, the Brigade's logistical support operations were significantly strained. A fifth maneuver battalion had originally been slated for TF Bayonet, for the purpose of having a two-battalion attack at the Commandancia – which

2400-447: Was shot and killed at a PDF checkpoint, and then a U.S. Navy officer and his wife in the following car were arrested, taken to the Commandancia and beaten and abused for several hours. In light of this series of events, President George Bush ordered the invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause , to protect U.S. lives and property, and to permit the inauguration of the winners of the previous summer's elections. The mission of

2450-459: Was the task of "keeping jungle warfare alive in the Army." Fort Sherman became the home for USARCARIB's Jungle Warfare Training Center (JWTC), which ran up to ten three-week courses per year. Many Soldiers destined for South Vietnam during the Vietnam War first received their jungle training at Fort Sherman. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided to bolster available U.S. Army forces in

2500-511: Was to be the main attack of JUST CAUSE. However, JTF-SOUTH reallocated this battalion to the other side of the Isthmus. Ironically, as JTF-SOUTH was doing this, Noriega was beefing up defenses at the Commandancia. Half of the PDF 6th Company, most of the PDF 7th Company and elements of the PDF Bn 2000 were moved to the Commandancia in the two months leading up to JUST CAUSE, replacing the unit that had led

#471528