Nation Building Nation Development The Effects Of The Infrastructure Rebuilding Program In Panama

The United States commits many troops, and resources each year to the Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Program to the far reaches of the globe. In the SOUTHCOM area of operations alone, lO,785 reserve and national guard engineers devoted to a subset program, infrastructure rebuilding, deployed to 12 different countries in 1995. These soldiers performed 129 projects using over $2.3 million in materials. The military seeks to enhance the training readiness of the individuals and units involved in these exercises while at the same time furthering the interests of the United States in the countries impacted. This paper explores the question: Are the efforts to rebuild and improve the infrastructure in target nations achieving the desired results within both those countries and the United States military? To bring focus and depth to these issues this paper examines the United States efforts in Panama since 1989.