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1 [1] (July 21, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/hoigaee0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrning the legislative debate since 1914 S July 21, 2025 Defense Primer: U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM, commonly referred to as SOUTHCOM) is the Department of Defense (DOD) unified combatant command (CCMD) responsible for command and control of U.S. military forces, contingency planning, and security cooperation across the Caribbean, Central America, and South America (see Figure 1). According to 10 U.S.C. §161, a unified combatant command is a military command which has broad, continuing missions and which is composed of forces from two or more military departments. Background SOUTHCOM traces its origins to U.S. military units dispatched to Panama in the early 20th Century. According to the command, it became a unified military headquarters during World War II when U.S. planners established the U.S. Caribbean Defense Command. In the 1950s, the command's focus shifted from the Caribbean to Central and South America. In 1963, the Caribbean Defense Command was formally renamed U.S. Southern Command. SOUTHCOM works with foreign militaries to counter threats from transnational criminal organizations, violent extremist organizations, and malign regional and external state actors. To train, equip, and professionalize partner militaries, the command uses various types of funding and authorities, such as international military education and training and foreign military financing. SOUTHCOM conducts multinational training exercises, facilitates combined operations, and engages in DOD security cooperation activities, such as DOD's State Partnership Program with the National Guard, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and train and equip efforts under 10 U.S.C. §333. Mission and Organization According to SOUTHCOM, its mission deters aggression, defeats threats, rapidly responds to crises, and builds regional capacity, working with our allies, partner nations, and U.S. government (USG) team members to enhance security and defend the U.S. homeland and our national interests. SOUTHCOM's responsibilities include providing force protection for U.S. military resources across its area of responsibility (AOR) and ensuring the defense of the Panama Canal (see Figure 1). SOUTHCOM's AOR has two overseas bases that DOD has consistently used for at least 15 years and at which the U.S. military exercises some degree of operational control: Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras. (For more information, see CRS Report R48123, U.S. Overseas Basing: Background and Issuesfor Congress.) There also are two cooperative security locations (CSLs) in the SOUTHCOM AOR. The Central American CSL is located at the Comalapa International Airport in El Salvador. The Caribbean CSL is located at the Reina Beatrix International Airport in Aruba and the Hato International Airport in Curagao. SOUTHCOM is headquartered in Doral, FL, and led by a four-star general or admiral. The current SOUTHCOM commander is U.S. Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey. Figure I. SOUTHCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR) Source: Map created by CKS using data trom U.S. Department of Defense and Esri, updated July 14, 2025. Notes: This map does not show all facilities where the United States may have an access agreement with host nations within the selected geographic range. Inclusion or exclusion does not reflect current deployments and operations. Names and boundary representations are not necessarily authoritative. Executive Order 14172 of January 20, 2025, Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness, 90 Federal Register 8629, January 31, 2025, changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Components SOUTHCOM comprises four service component commands, one subordinate unified command, and three joint task forces (JTFs). JTF-Bravo supports humanitarian and civic assistance, counterdrug, contingency and disaster relief operations in Central America. JTF-Guantanamo supports intelligence collection efforts, as well as activities related to the legal care and custody ... of armed conflict detainees. Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF- South) supports counterdrug operations and efforts to combat transnational crime. Approximately 1,200 active- duty servicemembers and civilian personnel are assigned to SOUTHCOM. Budget DOD budget documents do not fully enumerate funding for CCMDs. Forces and operations assigned to CCMDs typically are funded by individual military services, with CCMD funding largely limited to operations and