Southern Command absorbs Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico

Sea Power, Aug 1997

The U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility (AOR) has been expanded to include the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and part of the Atlantic Ocean, all of which were formerly in the U.S. Atlantic Command's AOR.

The change, made official through an amendment to the Defense Department's Unified Command Plan, gives the Southem Command (SOUTHCOM) responsibility for all U.S. military forces in Latin America and adjacent waters (including the Pacific coast of South America), an area that includes 13 island nations in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and several British, French, and Dutch territories. DOD officials said that the transfer is intended to facilitate U.S. counter-drug operations by giving the Southern Command responsibility for both the source areas and transit zones of the illegal drug trade. The change also will affect U.S. naval interactions with Latin American navies, unifying the command and control of operations and exercises.

In another recent change, the Southern Command has shifted its headquarters from Quarry Heights, Panama, to Miami, Fla. Naval forces assigned to operate under the Southern Command normally are dispatched from the Western Hemisphere Group based in ports in Florida and other states along the Gulf of Mexico. The Western Hemisphere Group, a major component of the Navy's Second Fleet, serves as the Southern Command's naval component.