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 caldeira", the noted hot springs grotto. In 1869, the author Mark Twain published "The Innocents Abroad", a travel book, where he described his time in the Azores. The first reference to the island of São Jorge was made in 1439 but the actual date of discovery is unknown. In 1443 the island was already inhabited but active settlement only began with the arrival of the noble Flemish native "Wilhelm Van der Haegen". Arriving at Topo, where he lived and died, he became known as "Guilherme da Silveira" to the islanders. João Vaz Corte-Real received the captaincy of the island in