Just Cause Anniversary lessons
The United States deposed Panama’s Manuel Noriega 24 years ago tomorrow morning in what was known as Operation Just Cause. ROS sends us a link from Stars & Stripes in which the commander of the 82d Airborne Division claims that it would be much more difficult for his unit to mount an operation like that today;
Today’s force simply isn’t as prepared as it needs to be for such a mission, officials said. Most air crews don’t have sufficient training, and there are not enough paratroopers in each unit to fill key roles like jumpmasters.
“An operation like Panama or Haiti — we would be hard pressed to do today,” said Maj. Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Nicholson said America’s ability to respond to any crisis in the world had suffered because of the focus on those wars but added that the division had a renewed emphasis on its role as the United States’ Global Response Force.
The Global Response Force must be ready to deploy within 18 hours and must be prepared for any number of combat or humanitarian scenarios.
Despite the emphasis, work is still needed, he said.
Only a quarter of air crews are qualified for such a mission, Nicholson said, and the division still needs more jumpmasters and soldiers certified to deal with hazardous materials in each unit.
“We’re not there yet as a joint team,” Nicholson said.
General Nicholson goes on that the whole operation was “muscle memory” because the units involved had trained for such a mission so often that it was just a series of properly executed battle drills. It was the same with Desert Storm. The reason the ground war only lasted 100 hours is because the war was just like a Table XII gunnery exercise at Grafenwoehr with fewer trees. Training won wars and advanced politicians’ policies. Training is the most important thing that troops do – because sweat in training saves blood in combat. I’m pretty sure that our next enemy won’t clear with our commanders the next time and place they’ll strike.
Category: Big Army
Not sure how “hazmat” got involved in being a crucial part of readiness,,,,, just saying.
The 82nd ABN portion of the Airborne assault on Panama was a joke. A Bde (-) jumped in up to 6 hrs after the DZ was secured by the Rangers with the Division and Corps Commanders and their staffs. It would been more tactical to just airland and walk off the birds. Somebody just wanted a mustard stain on their wings.
I remember doing airborne airport seizure operations ten years before Just Cause with the 82d. It’s what they trained for, they deserved the opportunity to do just one real op.
I had a PSG that was in the 82d during Just Cause. He told me that his plane landed and they all just walked out.
The Airborne Operation was delayed due to weather conditions in North Carolina, as well as the fact they pushed up the jump off time due to word getting out that the invasion was coming. It was not a Brigade(-) as the 4/325th jumped in to make up for the Bn from the 504th that was on the ground already in Panama.
I would not call it a joke… I suppose they could have just landed the planes like they did in Grenada, and had a total clusterfuck.
That said;
In the years leading up to Just Cause, the 82d drilled the shit out of Airfield Seizures. We practiced them constantly. Wheteher it was rehearsing for Panama, or for Honduras, or some other contingency, we became damned good at Night Combat Equipment Jumps and seizing the objectives on and off the DZ.
Muscle Memory is everything.
Hazardous materials?
Crude petroleum – it looks like water if it’s in a pool, and is extremely toxic.
Radiation exposure from stolen radioactive materials and dirty bombs.
Various kinds of nerve gas and other toxic materials – e.g., sarin, mustard gas, a mix of two common household products, ricin.
Contaminated water supplies – corpses thrown into streams, rivers or open bodies of water, among other things.
Those are just a few examples. I’d want someone in my group who knows the ropes on that stuff. Makes sense to me.
I remember it well…….
No Shit, there I was….trying to get home from a month at NTC, all the married guys with kids were getting pretty antsy to make it back before Christmas after having the OPFOR kick the shit out of us for a month. All of a sudden, after getting our bags palletized, in steps an Air Force Colonel to let us know we just invaded Panama and all aircraft were being re-routed in support, he had no idea how long we would be stuck there but at least I was on the baggage detail with my bags, everyone else was held up at Ft. Irwin with no sleeping bags, shaving kits, etc…
Ex-PH2, The Hazmat people that he is talking about don’t do the kind of things you are talking about. Those are specialized jobs. The ones at unit level learn how to mark and transport Hazmat.
@5, Can it really be a combat jump when the airfield is already secured and the ash and trash from Division and Corps are jumping with you? Don’t recall seeing those guys while refining my muscle memory. Sorry, but there’s gotta be an asterisk next to the mustard stain.
I suppose you can place all the asteriks you like beside it, and no argument about guys getting bumped for someone from Division HQs to take their spot… that does not negate the fact that the 1st lift of 82d Troops were dropping in 1 hour after the initial Assault by the Rangers(only 15 minutes behind schedule), and the Rangers were still securing the objectives inside the airport when the final lifts from Bragg had landed. As well as there being sporadic but persistant shooting on the DZ throughout the drops.
Back in December 1989…Noriega was out of time! (That was the start of a running cadence of choice when I attended Airborne School in 1991 & most of the Black Hats were Just Cause vets eff me if I can remember the rest of it. Remember being in awe of those guys with CIBs and mustard stains but I was just a nasty leg MS1 ROTC cadet at the time)
@7- Dust Bowl/Ft. Irwin in December is a shitty time to be stuck out there with no sleeping bag, snivel gear, shaving kits, etc.- sure paid to be on that baggage detail! (for once)
A dispute among drug dealers bush vs noriega on cia’s cut in selling dope to black school children! Google cia drug dealing for details also (you will like this) mena arkansas airport and bill clintons involment in cia drug dealing. I guess the cia forgot nancy reagans advice “JUST SAY NO! to drug dealing.
@ 1: Hazmat must be properly identified before being loaded on Air Force and commercial transports. This includes fuel, oils, munitions and a bunch of other war fighting materials.
Many logistics reasons for doing so, especially if passengers or troops are being transported as you don’t want somebody to have access to and pull the wrong pin or something. Plus you got to worry about theft of the hazardous stuff during the loading and unloading process. Lots of reasons as movement of the ground fighting capability isn’t always connected to an airborne assault or an air field assault landing of the aircraft.
Also vaporization and expansion of vapor at altitude is a concern if Hazmat fluids (fuels for example) are not [packed correctly for exposure to altitude).
This is related to the discussion, and is the first hand account of a friend of mine who was just a young pup Paratrooper. It is long, but well worth the read, and I think he deserves a bit of recognition… Airborne! All the Way! Edward L. VanVickle OPERATION JUST CAUSE On this day 14 years ago a young low speed, low drag, PFC with C-Company 1/504 made a jump into combat with many other troopers of America’s Guard of Honor, the 82nd Airborne Division. This is his account of the event. Dec. 17th, 1989: While sitting in my meager apartment in Fayetteville N.C. watching the nightly news with then wife and putting my daughter to sleep. We were having the discussion of my mother joining us for Christmas when a news piece came on about the happenings in the Republic of Panama. She had asked me about going to the Airport to pick her up. After the news piece I simply replied, “If I am still here and not in Panama! She came back saying that, “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen; I don’t want to talk or think about that.” Dec. 18th 1989: It was approximately 0900 ET. The Battalion had assembled to hear the SGM’s idea on Christmas money that the Battalion had, and how to go about spending it for the Battalion Christmas party. At just about the same time the phone in the 1st BN 504th PIR HQ building rang. It was the Brigade SDO. 1SGT Duhon was in the Battalion HQ and he was the one that came out an interrupted the SGM, “SGM I am sorry to interrupt but they JUST CALLED IT! N Hour was 0900!! SGM looked out at his already speculating Battalion and told them to report back to the Company areas and start the N Hour sequence. Most of us were positive we knew what was going on. We had a date with history. Our Commander and Chief had sent us a personal invitation to an “Ass Kicking Christmas Party” in the Republic of Panama! Dec. 18th through the 19th… Read more »