Fort Sherman Panama - Driving into the Shelter Bay Marina

[ramoslegacy]

I lived there from 90-92..from the time I was 7-9 yrs old. I lived at the second to last house right before you turned left to go to the other part of sherman...I remember playing by the beach, it always being soooo hot...the blue craps that stunk up the place in march or april...WOW. unbelievable that it's turned to that. I'm heading there this weekend with my fiance...live in Miami, Fl now, I want to go through and see it all for myself.

Thanks for the Video..

Juan

[anotherday53]

i lived on that base as a child

[insaneone5150]

I went to this very spot in the summer of 83,84, and 85 while assigned to C Co 509th Pathfinder Company.It was a very cool place to go and train.

[shovelniron]

'98-'99 one of the last to get to see the place before it was closed..... kick a** place to be back then... I heard rumors that the chinesse took over most of the posts and bases there.... communist chinesse was the second largest population when I was stationed there... and i can never forget dating Patricia the blonde bartender chick at the sportsbar at Ft.Clayton.... awesome times.... awesome people! Much love for that place...

[115w13]

I was based at Clayton with 601st Med--we staffed a dispensary at Sherman 1972--1974. When I first opened this video--I felt like I was back there. Sad to see that it was looted.

[nbnybeats4u]

jotc baby,i was at ft davis down the road but we trained up there.played some bush games lol remember them airborn boys jumpin in at 800 ft,gettin caught up in that black palm.82-85. great diving right there at sherman,had a coral reef drop point that was two or three feet off shore and dropped about 80 ft straight down.great video,brings back a lot of memories.

[Pills62]

Stationed here for 2 weeks Jungle Training on July 4,, 1970. What a shame this place was hoping when I was there with the US Army. Went to Vietnam after completing training here.

[globalist426]

97% of former Canal territory has been redeveloped or sold for others to develop. Sherman is part of the remaining 3%. However, plans are underway to create a major tourist center there as the Atlantic coast begins its development.

[thecasperct]

Is that sail boat still out there (shipwrecked)

[kinmortiger]

No you talking are a moron...

[kinmortiger]

Oh I forgot we also had a jump school there. I was a cadre there for a while. Before the invation were I spent some time visiting my buds in Panama. If you where never there you should ask people who know... You have no clue and the way your talking never have been in the service. I think the Marines need people.

[kinmortiger]

Sorry to tell you but as a memeber of the 3rd /7 SFG I was part of JOTC (Jungle Oeration Training Center). The tarmac or runway was where we would bring army units or units from the SOA. Then train them in Jungle warfare. We had a reptile zoo on post plus a scuba detachment as well as a river baot detail. The pannels are used for paint testing. I lived there a long time and was born and rasied in Gatun Canal Zone. 3rd genenration Zonian and very proud of it.

[nbnybeats4u]

@kinmortiger yeah man ft gulick 3-7.i was at davis 82-85.did the jotc thing at sherman,did a couple of ops wit cats from gulick.i was married to a colombian chick and went to colombia several times,thus the ops.army wanted me to do the 97-delta thing but i was young and fukin around wit the drug scene,wouldn t have worked.a sgt from gulick who also had a colombian wife schooled me on some shit before i wound up in levinworth.good memories and maturing took place in panama.

[awest147]

I was there in 1979 for jungle training with the 82nd airborne division

[64SWAMPRAT]

I was there in 1982....damned shame what it looks like in this video compared to what it looked like in '82

[seandenise69]

Omg my father was a jungle expert there and our Scout leader...how many cub scouts do you know today can navigate through the jungles! Jotc the shiznit!

[MIKEL0352]

I did Jungle Warfare training there when I was in the Marines......amazing place.....hot as hell whenI was there......the place looks like a war zone now



[sdfry40]

6 great months in the Army were spent here!! It was an awesome place to be!!

[ischolar99]

Did jungle warfare training in the summer of 1991 at Fort Sherman. Had a weekend R&R we spent our last day snorkling off the beach right off the reef in front of the last two barracks nearest the beach (edge of the cove). It still bothers me 20 years later... while snorkling some friends and I (ackerman and fluke - contact me guys-facebook if you're still around) found a small chest that we couldn't get open & failed dragging it... does anyone know if a treasure was ever found around that area?

[ischolar99]

Did jungle warfare training in the summer of 1991 at Fort Sherman. Had a weekend R&R we spent our last day snorkling off the beach right off the reef in front of the last two barracks nearest the beach (edge of the cove). It still bothers me 20 years later... while snorkling some friends and I (ackerman and fluke - contact me guys-facebook if you're still around) found a small chest that we couldn't get open & failed dragging it... does anyone know if a treasure was ever found around that area?

[f25075wj]

I hope some day that I can go back and visit Ft. Sherman. My assignment there was the most enjoyable that I had in my 21 years of service. I am glad that my 2 children were old enough to enjoy and remeber the GREAT times there. If I don't make it back maybe one or both of them can. Almost everytime we get together our time at Ft. Sherman is part of the conversation.

[f25075wj]

I had been there for training 5 times from 1975 to 1985 lived there 1985 to 1988 and the last time on Ft. Sherman was for Operation Just Cause with the 3/504th PIR 82ND ABN. When I got there for Just Cause there were still people there that I new when I leaved there. Because I leaved there less than a year before the operation the Commander used my first hand knowledge of the area as we perpared. It was a awarding experience to be involved in the planning of my units involvement in the mission.

[f25075wj]

I leaved there from 1985 to 1988. At the start of the of this presentation that area was the E-6 and below family housing area commonly known as Lower Sherman, behind the right side was Shimmy Beach. The housing area for the E7 and above was located on the hill to the left from where they turn right going towards the marina. The building he states was a pumping station, was the movie threater, the sides have been closed,it was just screen wire and had no A/C. My children and I really miss it.

[seandenise69]

@f25075wj I lived there from 76 to 79 my father was an Instructor there...our place was the last one on the right...my room was beach side...incredible view of the ships coming in and going out, and of course Colon...scary ass city...

 By the way i thought that was the movie theatre he was talking about...it was screens back in the day... I seen Jaws there and Close Encounters of the Third kind....I was scared to death swimming after seeing Jaws...Ft. Sherman was the time of my life...

[64jorthom]

Hi, I like your comments about everything you said. I got sad when saw the buildings, they could be used for something, or to sell them. It is a waste. That is the way PRD politicians work. If they don't get any money, they just don't do anything. These buildings are almost totally destroyed, the copper is gone and sold by pennies. The marina is the best of the area, clean and very nice. Good meals also. I live in Panama now, and I am going to all places as much I can.

[cruizincaly]

Was there in 1967 for JOTC The school was hell but the Ft. was spotless.Thanks for the memories,it sure has gone downhill and needs some tender loving care.

[jaghoff]

I was there in 1980 for JOTC while assigned 1/6 Marines. I always remembered that movie theatre cause they sold beer, that amazed us!! also copped pot off the dependent kids that cruised around on bikes!!( 30$ an ounce) I agree with most comments, that was a beautiful place and now it looks like shit What a waste!! Also had strippers in the e-club,what a pisser!! also had to bend over and get a pennecillin shot after a weekend in Panama city!! La Gloria was the place. WHAT A FUCKIN PISSER!!!

[noncontradiction]

Wow, it's crazy seeing the houses so overgrown. I lived there for a time. This brings back some memories.

[dtpaco1325]

I was stationed there from 79-81, one of the few females. I worked in supply and the bldg he said had the windows intact it was the rec/gym. That old housing area across from the airport he was talking about was the barracks I lived in, also the mess hall was in the same bldg, the Jungle Inn (NCO club) was in the first bldg over there also. They also had the PX over there. It is ashamed how everything has gone down especially when I know there are areas in Panama that are being built up.

[TBusch100]

Also a lot of memories here but they are pretty foggy now since I was there from 75 to 77 working at the zoo until it closed in 76. Will have to make my way back at there at some point to see it again. thanks

[jimspolice]

Alot of memories here .. the guard shack, housing and training quarters, Ft. lorenzo checks while patroling from Davis ..would patrol Ft. Espinar, Coco Solo, and the areas within our sector, .. use to be a beautiful place back in 88 and 89 .. and still looking good in 91 .. we should have stayed there .. at least we cared for it

[Panameno56]

cono miren como el gobierno de Panama ha descuidado estas casas,me da verguenza ver esto

[fifteenaces66]

I remember it when I was there in 89/90 for "Just Cause" What a waste!! Such a great place. I remember swimming in the Lagoon.

[ScooterandSparky]

My Cub Scout Pack was based in Sherman, (I lived in Davis)... I agree with the sentiments about how this area has completely been obliterated... sometimes I'd rather keep my memories the way they were instead of seeing Gulick and the rest of my childhood in shambles... what a shame.

[Drnwagn1]

The road leading in was well paved and the grounds were kept up daily. We called the grounds keepers grass ninjas as they were always completely covered up and wearign goggles! My house was the 3-4th one on the left just before the large gap between two of them. Just scary how bad it looks now. The buildings off in the distance were all of our team buildings and quarters for students. Suck that it looks the way it does when it could have been housing for the poor or a resort area.

[Drnwagn1]

I lived there for a year as one of the trainers assigned to JOTB!  I lived in one of the first buildings in this video. They were beautiful duplexes. On the right was the canal and we had beaches all along the way. The building that he mentioned was still in use was the rec center/gym. The tin huts next to it was the motor pool The building that he mentioned as a water treatment facility was the theater...

[hartman1104]

This makes me sick, I was a Marine and went thru the Jungle Warfare training school in the late 80's. I remember it being a beautiful place, and to see the barracks that we stayed in back then looking like this is just sad. Wish we would've kept the base if the Panamanians were just gonna let it go to shit.

[lularulz]

Wow! I was stationed there 87-89 and lived in that housing at the beginning of the video. Those taller building at about 3:55 in the video were various offices, mess hall, medic office, barracks, NCO Academy, small PX, tailor shop and restaurant type place. So sad to see the housing in shambles but good to see the new commercial marina. There's a Facebook group for JOTC/Ft Sherman - it's called JOTB - Ft. Sherman: Panama Canal Zone.

[nanaosterland]

Sad!!!! was at Serman 79 - 83 was up in upper Serman . Osterland

[oldsargee6]

Heart breaking to see the housing that my family occupied in such condition. Panama was truly the Army's best kept secret. The Marina was once the office of the Jungle Warfare Branch for JOTC. I spent just under three years there as an instructor 87-89, not to mention pulling OPFOR details for JOTC back in 81-83 while stationed at Fort Kobbe. Thanks so much for posting this video...it brings back a great deal of memories! I have some great pics of two Blackhawks that crashed on the airstrip.

[Siamecho321]

So sad. I remember living there in 1995-96. By that time it was considered a one year hardship tour and the NCOs were sharing the housing and lower enlisted were in the single story barracks.

[01lexus]

I lived on Fort Clayton from 84-87 from 1st to 4th grade. It was such a nice place to live. Everyone seemed happy and it was such a clean well kept base with so much going on. I don't know anybody in the military and their families that did not love being stationed in Panama. It is a shame it was given back and now those beautiful bases are so run down and looted. I would love to go back there but it may end up being depressing seeing what the Panamanians have done do it.

[FrickenhausenRocks]

Its such as shame what happened to Ft Sherman. I was there in 1986, and again in 1989 - 1999. I missed it in some ways. Oh well...blame it on Politicians.

[jlillie2]

I think the thing you were thinking was "antennas" might have been what remains of one of the tropic test center exposure sites. The wind gauges and radio used to send telemetry infor back to a storage site. The racks were used to test materials for degredation testing. I have no idea how any of that would have survived so long when the houses were destroyed... I left in 1988

[btsic]

Makes me sick what has happened. Do you have any videos of Ft Davis?

[glennjr68]

I know what you mean about making you sick watching this video. I was stationed there from 89-91 then they sent me over to FT.Clayton. I stayed in those buildings over by the airstrip while I was going thru JOTB. I was with the 195th AVN. BDE. (Air Traffic Controllers). During Operation Just Cause I had to perform guard duty on that airstrip. Making sure no one looted our portable air traffic towers. I wish some one would rebuild that place like Howard AFB. I miss it there.

[brkr99]

yes, those panels seen in the video are infact weather test panels. these are test panels for tropical environments, there exists a similar test facility at Ft. Greely Ak., for testing under artic conditions. I have seen both having been in both locations. on the individual panels are paint and chemical compounds being subjected to the elements. I seem to remember a second site at, or, near the breakwater. I believe that they were us government operated.

[green6401]

What you call a antenna or solar panel is a test site for material to see how it handles weather i believe it was ran by the Smithsonian, or there is another one on the breaker wall, Stationed there from 89-93 yes ther is a run way it was an airstip for the military The row of building are old barracks that ran the JOTC school and PLDC

[Z2Svox]

This makes me sick to my stomach to see what was a paradise turned into a shit hole. I was there from 94 to 96 and it was such a beautiful place. I really do feel ill watching this.

[hylas49]

Really makes you want to rush out and pay your taxes....hmmm

[evo313]

@hylas49 I was there from Dec 89 to Aug 1990, with the 984th MP Co. I used to love messing with the Marines in the JWTC Courses! lol

[khs78608]

WOW! This is so sad to me, I thought they would make Ft sherman a resort..We lived there in 77 and 78. My husband was an instructor for the jungle school. we lived in the second house on the right past the gate. This place was paradise! thanks for the memory.

[SFCJerryRoberts]

@khs78608

I was there 77-81 last quarters on the left. Worked in JWB.

[hickster73]

Such a shame that place got ran down and let go.. This place was the Armys unknown paradise.. 7th ID 3/9 MANCHUS KEEP UP THE FIRE.... JOTC 92-94 Anybody remember the slot machines in the bottom floor or the barracks

[christophersmith0341]

@hickster73 I was a Marine there in 1997. The Corps used to keep a infantry company at Rodman Naval Station on 3 month rotations to reinforce the Embassy. I do however fondly remember the slot machines in the lower level of the barracks at ft.sherman. We had to do 6 weeks there for jotc. Loved it!1

[rgd82abn]

82nd Abn february,1985 JOTC..........Anybody remember the Blue Goose in Panama city?Used to be a beautiful base.too bad

[latrivi]

yes that was my first stop when i went to the processing station with some buddies of mine. you remeber the Ancon INN? lol

[christophersmith0341]

@rgd82abn Gruta Azul!!! I remember verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry well. In 1997, I never knew what $20.00 could do!!

[wingedsuperyak]

It's nice to see Ft. Sherman again. I went through JOTB in 97 or 98, probably 98 on the 2nd to last rotation before they ended JOTB in Panama. Best time I had in the military. By the way does anyone remember what those little gorillas they had in the SF zoo were called? I've been searching for years but never found out. They are like little 8" tall gorillas that stand straight but have hairless, red, scrunchy people faces. They are remarkably expressive.

[brkr99]

I don't know about red scrunchy faced miniature apes, but I used to work volunteer at the fort sherman zoo when I lived there Apr.74 through Jan.77.

Keith

[steeltears]

I was there as well with the 10th MTN Div (LI). What unit were you with? Shame that we had to leave...

[wingedsuperyak]

Wow you might have been the last rotation through there then. I went through with 3/75, and if I recall right the 10th Mountain came through right after us. I miss Panama, even if it was only a training rotation. Ft. Sherman is a cool place.

[apotts60]

Man what a trip, was stationed at Ft Davis from 81-84 and spent many many great times at Ft Sherman diving. Many times at Devils beach.

[dictionar1]

United States Army Jungle Operations Training Center

[WilliamDarkskull]

I was at Fort Sherman for Jungle Warfare Training in 90 just prior to going to the Gulf. So sad to see the base has been closed and negleceted as it has.

[brkr99]

hello WilliamDarkskull, interesting note on jwtc, when I arrived Apr 74 the school was infact the jungle warfare training center. by early 75 they had changed the name to the jungle operations training center. it was explained to me as the result of our withdrawal from Vietnam and a return to conventional warfare. do you know if they reversed this descision?

I departed Jan 77. . . . . brkr99

[brkr99]

I also am greatly saddened to see condition of the NCO family quarters upon entering the post. Fort sherman was an extraordinay experience and a beautiful natural setting unlike other posts and bases in the area. I wish more video was available. I resided there Apr 74 through Jan 77- Cristobal High Class of 76. I wish  to all with experience of Fort Sherman - Wonderful Memories. cheers then . . . .

[dictionar1]

Colon, at the time, had more thieves than baghdad. the 'machetaros' who were contracted to keep the weeds at bay, knew the place like the back of their hand. they prolly got the copper etc.

[Gladiator0719]

I was there in 1991, trained for a month then returned to 29 palms MCAGCC

[JamesFariello]

That base was just a beautiful base. The airstrip was used by twin engine aircraft, jump aircraft and helicopters, no large aircraft. The big structures on the other side of the airstrip was barracks for the troops coming in for JOTC training. They had Mess halls, small PX and lounges for the troops. The buildings at gate area were officers & Senior NCO homes. The base had a nice beach area to the right. Thanks again for the trip, it was a sad film for me. I remember a beautiful US Army fort.

[samjr67]

I was there back in 93. My reserve unit went down there to renovate some of the structures that belonged to JOTC. We lived out in the jungle in Battery Pratt. It was interesting living in the bunker. We were there for 1 week then drove across to Fort Kobbe for 1 week. I'm looking for pictures from Battery Pratt.

[crossthread42]

SAD SAD SAD, whats become of Family/Depend housing as you come into Sherman...

I lived down there during the late 70's/Early 80's..

Walked those roads ALOT going back and Forth.. Hitchhiking to and from Ft. Gulick...

Class of "81" Christoble High School..

Devil's Beach.. good times...

[BushidoBrownSama]

do people squat in the barracks there?

[dictionar1]

thats right maurice. 3/7 S.F. was over at gulick, i think. they were the "black hats" and trained permanent party for airborne. there was also a rappel tower near the motor pool. there were smaller 1 story buildings near the beach there for cadre sp/4 and above. maurice, drop me an email.

[mauricerod8672]

When I was there in the early 80's the buildings near the marina were the barracks for the Jungle Warfare school and also a a Speacial Forces unit. There was once also a jump school there. The "airport" was really a Helo field for both the Jump School and the Jungle warefare school.

[dictionar1]

some of the best warriors in the U.S. forces were trained there!

[dictionar1]

i had to go get a shot at the infirmary because i couldn't stop sneezing.

[dictionar1]

(*helicopters)the first "water processing" bldg you pointed out was the theater, i believe. the turnoff past those solar/ antenna things. went to more family housing on the hill.anyway, the other barracks were for training units that came down for jungle warfare training.the last one was hq where cadre operated out of: office, a huge communications room that was spray painted camouflage by yours truly and some other houligans. LOL. i snorkeled in the lagoon and got stung by a jellyfish in there.

[dtpaco1325]

@dictionar1 I was the Armorer for a while in the HQ bldg and remember all that camouflage, I think I remember it being painted. I do remember the low clearance going to the arms room and I was the only one that could walk straight through without ducking. I would sit in that arms room and listen to people crack their heads on that wall and get knocked the f*%k out lmao!

[dictionar1]

okay, that intersection at the end of the housing area wasn't there b4. they've put in fences and signs where they weren't. the maintenenance facilities were the old motor pool. and yes, there was a "runway," but it was more of an lz. (landing zone for helicoptors). to the left was the chapel. to the right were barracks. 3 story bldgs. they're right on the canal beach.the first was the em/nco club. the next was s4 and admin.