American forces first began working out of Lajes during World War II, tasked with hunting German submarines.
BBC: Leon Panetta makes final international trip to Europe
He said the US remained committed to Lajes despite looming cuts that would halve the total number of personnel there.
Mr Panetta took the opportunity to announce a delayed timeframe for planned cuts to the Lajes Air Base in Portugal's Azores, a group of nine volcanic islands located almost 1, 000 miles (1, 600km) west of the Iberian peninsula.
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