Camp Navarro has hosted the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) of the AFP for decades. In 2005, news came that SOUTHCOM was to be moved to Pagadian City, which was met with wide protest by Zamboanga residents.[1] This eventually led to a review of the AFP's organization.
By August 2006, then AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon announced that the Southern Command of the AFP will be divided into the Western Mindanao Command and the Eastern Mindanao Command (EASTMINCOM). WESTMINCOM's joint service headquarters was to be located in Camp Navarro, while EASTMINCOM in Camp Panacan in Davao City.[2]
Camp Navarro also plays an important role in the ongoing war on terrorism in the Philippines, and has hosted the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P).[3] The camp was also the venue of a number of BALIKATAN Philippines - U.S. military joint exercises.[4]
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