Panama Canal Division (United States)

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See also: Divisions of the United States Army

Authorized in 1920, the Panama Canal Division was organized in 1921 in order to insure the United States could adequately defend the Canal Zone (similar divisions were organized to defend Hawaii and the Philippines).

Later, however, the commander of the Panama Canal Department, Major General Preston Brown, determined that the defense of Panama would be better served by command groups representing the Atlantic and the Pacific. In 1932, the Army inactivated the division, keeping its Tables of Organization on file should the need arise to reactivate it. It never has.

Source: Wilson, John B. (1997). Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades. Washington, DC: Center of Military History.