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
Protected areas of the Azores Azores, was Decree 78/72 (7 March 1972), which created the "Reserva Integral da Caldeira do Faial" ("Integrated Reserve of the Faial Caldera"), which was closely followed by Decree 79/72 (8 March 1972), that established the "Reserva Integral da Montanha da ilha do Pico" ("Integrated Reserve of the Mountain of the Island of Pico"). After a hiatus of two years, Decree 152/74 (15 April 1974) was published that created on the island of São Miguel the "Reserva da Lagoa do Fogo" ("Reserve of Lagoa do Fogo"), which was subject to forestry service guidelines along its perimeter. These regulatory frameworks were in