Puerto Rico Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Military=== {{main|Military of Puerto Rico}} [[File:Federal lands in Puerto Rico and VI.JPG|upright=2.00|thumb|U.S. military installations and other federal lands in Puerto Rico (including the United States Virgin Islands) throughout the 20th century|alt=]] As it is an unincorporated territory of the United States, the defense of Puerto Rico is provided by the United States as part of the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]] with the president of the United States as its [[commander-in-chief]]. Puerto Rico has its own [[Puerto Rico National Guard|National Guard]], and its own [[state defense force]], the [[Puerto Rico State Guard]], which by local law is under the authority of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The [[commander-in-chief]] of both local forces is the [[governor of Puerto Rico]] who delegates his authority to the [[Puerto Rico Adjutant General|Puerto Rico adjutant general]], currently [[Major General]] [[José J. Reyes]]. The Adjutant General, in turn, delegates the authority over the State Guard to another officer but retains the authority over the Puerto Rico National Guard as a whole. U.S. military installations in Puerto Rico were part of the [[United States Atlantic Command|U.S. Atlantic Command]] (LANTCOM after 1993 USACOM), which had authority over all U.S. military operations that took place throughout the Atlantic. Puerto Rico had been seen as crucial in supporting LANTCOM's mission until 1999, when U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as [[United States Joint Forces Command]]. Puerto Rico is currently under the responsibility of [[United States Northern Command]]. Both the Naval Forces Caribbean (NFC) and the Fleet Air Caribbean (FAIR) were formerly based at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. The NFC had authority over all U.S. Naval activity in the waters of the Caribbean while FAIR had authority over all U.S. military flights and air operations over the Caribbean. With the closing of the Roosevelt Roads and Vieques Island training facilities, the U.S. Navy has basically exited from Puerto Rico, except for the ships that steam by, and the only significant military presence in the island is the [[U.S. Army]] at [[Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico|Ft Buchanan]], the [[Puerto Rican Army]] and Air National Guards, and the [[U.S. Coast Guard]]. Protests over the noise of bombing practice forced the closure of the naval base. This resulted in a loss of 6,000 jobs and an annual decrease in local income of $300 million.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/national/after-closing-of-navy-base-hard-times-in-puerto-rico.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003005620/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/national/after-closing-of-navy-base-hard-times-in-puerto-rico.html |archive-date=2017-10-03 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=After Closing of Navy Base, Hard Times in Puerto Rico |date=3 April 2005 |work=The New York Times| access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref> A branch of the [[United States Army National Guard|U.S. Army National Guard]] is stationed in Puerto Rico – known as the [[Puerto Rico Army National Guard]] – which performs missions equivalent to those of the Army National Guards of the different [[states of the United States]], including ground defense, disaster relief, and control of civil unrest. The local National Guard also incorporates a branch of the [[United States Air National Guard|U.S. Air National Guard]] – known as the [[Puerto Rico Air National Guard]] – which performs missions equivalent to those of the Air National Guards of each one of the U.S. states. [[File:USS Maryland (SSBN-738) 1997.jpg|thumb|{{sclass|Ohio|submarine|0}} [[ballistic missile submarine]] USS ''Maryland'', [[Roosevelt Roads Naval Station]], 1997|alt=]] At different times in the 20th century, the U.S. had about 25 military or naval installations in Puerto Rico, some very small ones,<ref name="WQS">OSD, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (DIOR); "Atlas/Data Abstract for the United States and Selected Areas – Fiscal Year 1997;" Department of Defense; 1998. Note: The count of 25 military installations included the branch component of the Roosevelt Roads Naval facility on the island of Vieques, as distinct from the Roosevelt Roads Naval station in Cieba</ref> as well as large installations. The largest of these installations were the former [[Roosevelt Roads Naval Station]] in [[Ceiba, Puerto Rico|Ceiba]], the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility (AFWTF) on [[Vieques]], the National Guard training facility at [[Camp Santiago]] in [[Salinas, Puerto Rico|Salinas]], [[Fort Allen, Puerto Rico|Fort Allen]] in [[Juana Diaz]], the Army's [[Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico|Fort Buchanan]] in San Juan, the former U.S. Air Force's Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla, and the Puerto Rico Air National Guard's [[Muñiz Air National Guard Base]] in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]].<ref name="CD">Meléndez, Edwin; Meléndez, Edgardo; Colonial Dilemma; [[South End Press]]; Boston; 1993</ref> The former U.S. Navy facilities at Roosevelt Roads, Vieques, and Sabana Seca have been deactivated and partially turned over to the local government. Other than [[U.S. Coast Guard]] and Puerto Rico National Guard facilities, there are only two remaining military installations in Puerto Rico: the U.S. Army's small Ft. Buchanan (supporting local veterans and reserve units) and the PRANG (Puerto Rico Air National Guard) Muñiz Air Base (the C-130 Fleet). In recent years, the [[U.S. Congress]] has considered their deactivations, but these have been opposed by diverse public and private entities in Puerto Rico – such as retired military who rely on Ft. Buchanan for the services available there. Puerto Ricans have participated in many United States military conflicts, including the [[American Revolution]], when volunteers from Puerto Rico, [[Cuba]], and [[Mexico]] fought the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] in 1779 under the command of General [[Bernardo de Gálvez]] (1746–1786).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mlis.state.md.us/1997rs/billfile/sj0002.htm |title=Participation of Hispanics in the American Revolution |work=SJR2 |author=Maryland General Assembly |date=8 April 1997 |access-date=9 August 2012 |archive-date=5 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105051722/http://mlis.state.md.us/1997rs/billfile/sj0002.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> They continue to be disproportionately represented in present-day conflicts in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Danny Nieves |url=http://www.valerosos.com/anouncements.html |title=Special Announcements |publisher=Valerosos.com |access-date=18 April 2014 |archive-date=13 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713064457/http://www.valerosos.com/anouncements.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The most notable example is the [[65th Infantry Regiment]] of the [[United States Army]], nicknamed ''The Borinqueneers,'' from the original Taíno name of the island (Borinquen). The all-[[Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican]] regiment participated in [[World War I]], [[World War II]], the [[Korean War]], and the [[War on Terror]]; in 2014, it was awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] for its heroism during the Korean War. A significant number of Puerto Ricans serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, largely as [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] members and civilian employees. The size of the overall military-related community is estimated to be 100,000, including retired personnel.<ref name="CD"/> Fort Buchanan has about 4,000 military and civilian personnel. In addition, approximately 17,000 people are members of the Puerto Rico Army and Air National Guards, or the U.S. Reserve forces.<ref name="OSD">Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs; "Official Guard and Reserve Manpower Strengths and Statistics – Summary End Fiscal Year 1996;" 1996</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page