FEMALE ON THE FLOOR! Western Hemisphere

U.S. Army forces in the western hemisphere are divided into two commands, U.S. Forces Command (FORSCOM), a specified command, and U.S. Army South (USARSO), the Army component of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), a unified command. Based in Panama, USARSO consists of the 193d Infantry Brigade, the 228th Aviation Brigade, the 470th Military Intelligence Brigade, the 106th Signal Brigade, the 41st Area Support Group, the 3d Special Operations Support Command, the Military Police Command, the 536th Engineer Battalion, and the U.S. Army Garrison, Panama. The remainder of Army forces in the western hemisphere are part of FORSCOM, which encompasses all combat, combat support, and combat service support units — active and reserve — in CONUS, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In FY 90 FORSCOM had an authorized strength of 1,008,692 and an operating strength of 984,216. In FY 91 the authorized total dropped to 995,138, with an actual operating strength of 966,064.


FORSCOM commanded five armies within CONUS, the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth; the Third U.S. Army (TUSA), a field army which served as U.S. Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT) during Operation DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM; three corps — I Corps, III Corps, and XVIII Airborne Corps; 11 divisions; plus hundreds of attached units of battalion and company size. In FY 91 FORSCOM lost two divisions, the 2d Armored and the 9th (Motorized), although the 199th Infantry Brigade was taken from the 9th Division and restored as an independent unit. The FORSCOM mission included planning and conducting joint exercises, defending the land mass of the United States, planning for the common defense with Canadian authorities, and supporting civil defense. As a major Army command (MACOM), FORSCOM provided trained Army forces ready for combat; commanded its assigned active and reserve components forces located in the United States; supplied training and readiness guidance for Army National Guard (ARNG) units; provided the Army headquarters element for the U.S. Atlantic Command (LANTCOM); and planned for the mobilization and deployment of Army forces in times of crisis or war.

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