United States Forces Azores Management Command Azores Detachment and the base's resident officer in charge of construction. There are approximately 425 U.S. military and 10 Department of Defense civilians assigned to the group. The total U.S. population, including dependents, is about 2,170. Department of Defense employs approximately 930 Portuguese civilians at Lajes Field. An Air Force colonel serves jointly as U.S. Forces Azores commander and as commander of the 65th Air Base Group, Air Combat Command. United States Forces Azores United States Forces Azores (USAFORAZ) is based at Lajes Field, Portugal near Lajes on Terceira Island in the Azores. In 1953, the U.S. Forces
Greater Azores bullfinch Greater Azores bullfinch The greater Azores bullfinch ("Pyrrhula crassa") was a large, extinct species of bullfinch in the family Fringillidae that was once endemic to the Azores. It is the first known extinct passerine to be described from the islands. It is the largest known member of its genus based on its skull size, and had a very robust beak reminiscent of that of parrot. However, the remains are otherwise reminiscent of the extant but highly endangered Azores bullfinch ("Pyrrhula murina"). The species was described from subfossil remains found inside a lava tube in a volcano on Graciosa Island, although