DOWNLOAD: SOUTHCOM Pictorial History
History Links
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) does not maintain an archive of historical records for public review. Instead, USSOUTHCOM transfers its historical files to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which is responsible for making U.S. government records available to researchers. Individuals wanting to know more about the U.S. military experience in Latin America and the Caribbean should therefore consult NARA. Researchers should also contact the U.S. military service libraries, such as the U.S. Army Military History Institute (Carlisle, PA) and U.S. Navy Department Library (Washington, D.C.). Those repositories have extensive material dealing with U.S. Southern Command, its predecessor organizations, and hemispheric security relations.
Most modern U.S. military and diplomatic records are located at NARA’s Archives II, College Park, Maryland. The historical collection is divided into hundreds of record groups (RG). The Records of U.S. Army Forces in the Caribbean (RG 548), Records of Joint Commands (RG 349), and Records of Inter-Service Agencies (RG 334) are most valuable. The Records of the Adjutant General (RG 407), Records of the Quartermaster General (RG 92), and other U.S. military collections also contain SOUTHCOM-related documents. In addition, the records of other U.S. government agencies, particularly the Department of State, have material on U.S.-Latin American security relations. The Records of the Department of State (RG 59) contain office and central files related to U.S. foreign policy; U.S. embassy and consulate records are located in the Post Files of the Department of State (RG 84). Researchers can learn more about NARA holdings, and search related finding guides, at the National Archives website (www.archive.gov).
Part of the National Archives system, the presidential libraries hold primary sources on U.S. foreign relations, including the U.S. military experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. For example, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library (Hyde Park, NY) has material on the Good Neighbor Policy and U.S.-Latin American cooperation during World War II. The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library (Atlanta, GA) has documents related to the Panama Canal Treaties. Scholars can link to these and other presidential library from the NARA website.
Finally, U.S. military service research centers possess a variety of primary and secondary sources on U.S.-Latin American military relations. Researchers can access the unclassified or declassified holdings of the U.S. Army Center of Military History (Washington, D.C.), U.S. Army Military History Institute (Carlisle, PA), Naval Historical Center (Washington, D.C.), U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency (Montgomery, AL), and U.S. Marine Corps History Division (Quantico, VA). U.S. military service records—the personnel files of former U.S. airmen, soldiers, sailors, and marines—are located at the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri. Links to these and other repositories are provided below.
Links:
National Archives and Records Administration
National Personnel Records Center (Military Service Records)
Washington National Records Center
Presidential Libraries
Library of Congress
U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency
Center of Military History
U.S. Army Military History Institute
Naval Historical Center
U.S. Marine Corps History Division