The United States Southern Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands (COCOMs) in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation for Central and South America, the Caribbean (except U.S. commonwealths, territories, and possessions), Cuba, the Bahamas, their territorial waters, and for the force protection of U.S. military resources at these locations. The U.S. Southern Command is a joint command. It unites 1,200 military members of the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and numerous government agencies. The base is known as “SOUTHCOM,” and it is one of the ten Unified Combatant Commands in the U.S.