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
Azores Erika in 1997, and Hurricane Gaston in 2016. Storms that were extratropical when they impacted the region include Hurricane Tanya in 1995, Tropical Storm Ana in 2003 and Tropical Storm Grace in 2009. In addition, the 2005 Azores subtropical storm affected the region in October 2005. The Azores are divided into 19 municipalities (); each municipality is further divided into parishes (), of which there is a total of 156 in all of the Azores. The municipalities, by island, are: There are six cities (Portuguese: "cidades") in the Azores: Ponta Delgada, Lagoa and Ribeira Grande on the island of São