Fort Kobbe
Fort Kobbe was an Army fort renamed from Fort Bruja in 1932, at the time located adjacent to Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. In the 1930s it was primarily a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps post. It was located on the west side of the Panama Canal. Most of the area around it was uninhabited (part of the Panama Canal Zone watershed), though Panama City could be reached by crossing the nearby Bridge of the Americas.
The 33rd Infantry Regiment was reactivated at Fort Kobbe on 4 January 1950 and assumed responsibility for the entire Fort Kobbe/Howard Air Force Base post.[1] The regiment was inactivated and redesignated as the 20th Infantry at Fort Kobbe in May 1956. The 20th Infantry was reorganized and redesignated 15 November 1957 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battle Group, 20th Infantry. It was inactivated 8 August 1962 at Fort Kobbe. Soon afterwards the 193rd Infantry Brigade was formed to expand ground forces available in the Southern Command area.
In the 1980s it was a relatively small post, and housed a battalion of paratroopers (2/187th Rakkasans and later 1/508th ABN), a firing battery of artillery (Battery B 22 Field Artillery) M-102 105mm; six gun battery with survey and search light section, a company of engineers (518th ENG CO), and a helicopter battalion (210th Combat Avn BN).
Fort Kobbe was redesignated from Fort Bruja on 15 April 1932 to honor Major General William A. Kobbe. In 2000, it was decommissioned and control was turned over to the Republic of Panama.
See also
References
- ↑ "History of Fort Kobbe". Archived from the original on 22 August 2008.
External links
- "History of Fort Kobbe". Archived from the original on 22 August 2008.
- "History of Fort Kobbe/Howard AFB". Retrieved 6 November 2010.
5th Inf. Regiment 193rd Inf. Bde Coordinates: 8°54′N 79°35′W / 8.900°N 79.583°W