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Air Forces Panama is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) headquarters. It was assigned to Tactical Air Command, most recently to Twelfth Air Force. Its headquarters were located at Albrook Air Force Station and Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone (later Panama). The organization was inactivated on 11 February 1992. The unit was activated as the USAF Southern Air Division in 1976 to replace the United States Southern Command Air Forces as the USAF component of United States armed forces in the Panama Canal Zone. Southern Command Air Forces was simultaneously disestablished as a Major Command and USAF responsibility for South and Central America was transferred to Tactical Air Command. It was also renamed the 830th Air Division before receiving its final designation. After the transfer of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, its remaining responsibilities were transferred to the 24th Wing, one of its former components. The unit served during a period when USAF presence in Panama was gradually reduced, with some of its functions and organizations transferred to locations in the United States or discontinued. It operated its own aircraft, primarily in a forward air control and training mission, but also relied on airlift and fighter aircrat and crews rotating to its bases from other units. Although it focused on USAF representation, including training and foreign military sales, the unit also participated in Operation Just Cause and provided forces for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. ==History== Air Forces Panama was first activated at Albrook Air Force Station as USAF Southern Air Division, which replaced United States Air Forces Southern Command as the United States Air Force (USAF) component of the United States Armed Forces in the Panama Canal Zone in January 1976.〔Ravenstein, ''Organization of the USAF'', p. 47〕 The division commander was also "dual-hatted" as the vice commander of United States Air Force Southern Command.〔The Commander of Twelfth Air Force was the commander of United States Air Force Southern Command, which replaced the former major command.〕 The division also managed United States Air Force relationships with the Air Forces of friendly Latin American countries. One aspect of these relationships was the Foreign Military Sales program. It assisted Mexico in Mexico's purchase of Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighters. In 1984 the division delivered Lockheed T-33 T-Birds to Ecuador and Cessna A-37 Dragonflys to the Dominican Republic.〔 Many of the Foreign Military Sales programs were given operation names using the word "Peace" as their first element.〔Examples included Peace Pelican (C-130As for Bolivia), Peace Amazon (F-5s for Brazil), Peace Emerald II (AC-47s for Colombia), Peace Bonito (F-5s for Honduras), Peace Cargo (C-130As and T-33s for Mexico) and Peace Delta III (maintenance of F-16s for various nations). Abstract, USAF Southern Air Division History 1988.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Air Forces Panama」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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