Fort Gulick
Encyclopedia
Fort Gulick was a U.S. Army base in the former Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

 located on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal near Fort Davis, on Gatun Lake.

History

It was perhaps best known as the location of the School of the Americas. During the 1980s, control of the fort was turned over to the Republic of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 who renamed it Fuerte Espinar, and the School of the Americas was moved to Fort Benning, Georgia in 1984. The U.S. retook over administration of the fort as a result of the 1989 United States invasion of Panama
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...

 but kept the name of Fort Espinar.

The former site of Fort Gulick is now part of the municipal district of Colón, Panama
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....

 and is the location of the Hotel Melia http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_12/issue_17/travel_01.html.

Military History

During the period of 1973-1979 Fort Gulick was home to Company B, 4th Battalion 10th Infantry. The rest of the 4th Battalion 10th Infantry was located at Fort Davis while construction of the barracks were on-going. This assignment gave Company B, a unique training environment. The Company supported the U.S. Army School of the America's during its tactical exercises at Fort Sherman
Fort Sherman
Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base located on Toro Point at the Atlantic end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón . It was the primary defensive base for the Atlantic sector of the Canal, and was also the center for US jungle warfare training...

 and the Pina Training area. As well as supporting the 3rd Battalion 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) who's home Fort Gulick was.
The 7th Special Forces was headquartered at Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...

, North Carolina, but had the 3rd Battalion at Fort Gulick. Prior to the 7th SFG(A)deploying to Canal Zone the 8th Special Forces Group had operated in the Central and South American area. One of the 8th SFG(A) historic participation was in the training of a Bolivian Ranger unit to pursue Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his guerrillas.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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