Fort Kobbe, Military fort on the Pacific coast of Panama.
Fort Kobbe is a former US military base on the Pacific coast of Panama, situated next to what was once Howard Air Force Base. The grounds contain barracks, officer quarters, training facilities, a rock quarry, and concrete production equipment, as well as a stretch of beach facing the Pacific Ocean.
The post was set up in 1918 as a defensive position and renamed in 1932 after General William A. Kobbe, a US officer who served in the Philippine-American War. After the 1977 treaties between the US and Panama, the site was handed over in stages and closed by the end of the 1990s.
The base housed paratroopers, artillery crews, engineers, and helicopter units that operated across Central America. Today, walking through the former grounds, visitors can still see the layout of a working military post, with rows of barracks and support buildings still standing.
The site sits on the western side of the Panama Canal and is reachable by car from Panama City. Access to parts of the former military grounds may be restricted, so checking current conditions before going is a good idea.
Fort Kobbe was home to the only Jungle Warfare Training Center operated by the US Army, where soldiers trained to work in tropical forest conditions. The program attracted military personnel from many countries across the Americas, turning the base into a shared training ground for allied forces.
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