The United States Forces Azores (USAFORAZ) is based at

Lajes Field Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base (; ), officially designated Air Base No. 4 (''Base Aérea N.º 4'', BA4) , is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portugal. It is home to the Port ...

, Portugal near Lajes on

Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

in the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. In 1953, the U.S. Forces Azores Command was organized as a subordinate Unified Command under the Command-in-Chief Atlantic. In peacetime, the U.S. Forces Commander (COMUSFORAZ) is assisted by a small joint staff responsible for contingency planning.

History

In August 1958, Major General George B. Dany assumed command of the U.S. Forces, Azores, remaining in command until August 1961. While there he became the first American to receive Portugal's Distinguished Service Medal.

Mission Objectives

Members of U.S. Forces Azores provide base and en route support for

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

, allied nations, and other aircraft transiting the installation. Air Force units that make up the

65th Air Base Group The 65th Air Base Group is a group of the United States Air Force based at Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal. The group provides base and en route support for the U.S. Department of Defense, allied nations and other authorized aircraft in transit, ...

. In peacetime, a small joint staff composed of Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel assists the U.S. Forces Azores commander, who is responsible for contingency planning. In wartime, the U.S. Forces Azores commander assumes operational control of assigned U.S. military forces. The command mission would be to support

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

forces in the area, to assist in local defense, if requested, and to protect and evacuate U.S. citizens from the Azores, Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, or other areas of the world.

Force Structure

U.S. Forces Azores Command consists of a small joint staff, the 65th Air Base Group, and multiple tenant organizations such as the

729th Airlift Squadron The 729th Airlift Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 452d Operations Group, stationed at March Air Reserve Base, California. It operates Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft providing global airlift any time ...

, the Military Traffic Management Command Azores Detachment and the base's resident officer in charge of construction. There are approximately 425 U.S. military and 10 Department of Defense civilians assigned to the group. The total U.S. population, including dependents, is about 2,170. Department of Defense employs approximately 930 Portuguese civilians at Lajes Field. An Air Force colonel serves jointly as U.S. Forces Azores commander and as commander of the 65th Air Base Group,

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official site
– GlobalSecurity.org 1953 establishments in Portugal Commands of the United States Armed Forces Terceira Island Portugal–United States military relations