Averting Disaster
The U.S. military was slow in exercising Civil Affairs during and after Operation JUST CAUSE. This became evident when 11,000 refugees turned the Balboa High School grounds into an impromptu …
Civil Affairs Supports the Assault
Three Company A, 96th Civil Affairs (CA) Battalion soldiers attached to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment met a greater than anticipated challenge at the Torrijos International Airport Terminal …
‘Stop the Radio Nacional Broadcasts’
Company C, 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (SFG) stopped the Panamanian Radio Nacional pro-Noriega messages on D-Day of Operation JUST CAUSE. Well-trained SF and Army Special Operations Aviation …
Absolute Confidence
Frequent training between the 617th Special Operations Aviation Detachment and 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (3-7th SFG) in the months prior to Operations JUST CAUSE and PROMOTE LIBERTY laid the foundation for the accomplishment …
A Tale of Two Teams
Since May 1989, there had been a Psychological Operations (PSYOP) tactical loudspeaker detachment in Panama. However, additional loudspeaker teams were needed to join combat forces for Operation JUST CAUSE, starting on 20 December 1989. 1st, 6th, and 8th PSYOP …
“Proving the Concept”
The 528th Support Battalion, a relatively new and untested unit, was facing inactivation on 20 December 1989. But, the 528th deployed two task-organized support elements to Panama during Operations JUST CAUSE and PROMOTE LIBERTY that caused the Army …
“No Ordinary Signal Unit”
Formed in 1986, the 112th Signal Battalion first experienced combat in Panama, during Operation JUST CAUSE, December 1989. Their support to Special Operations Command, South, validated the need for a dedicated Army Special Operations signal battalion …
“Spreading the Word Fast”
On CBS Evening News on 1 January 1990, anchorman Dan Rather displayed aerial imagery of the Papal Nunciature in Panama City, Panama, the hideout of dictator Manuel Noriega. After showing U.S. military roadblocks, Rather pointed to another spot, saying, “Over here … ”
From Hangar to Housing
On the morning of 13 January 1990, approximately 2,500 Panamanian displaced civilians (DCs) arrived by bus and disembarked outside the entrance to Albrook Air Force Station. The DCs, whose homes had been destroyed during the early hours of Operation JUST CAUSE …
![1/75th Ranger Regiment soldiers prepare to load onto C-141 Starlifter aircraft, 19 December 1989 (photo from Gordon L. Rottman, Panama 1989-90 [New York: Osprey Publishing, 1991], used with permission).](images/800/175th_loading.jpg)
