page_title: United States invasion of Panama
section_title: Military operations
hierarchical_section_title: United States invasion of Panama / Military operations
caption_attribution_description: English: US Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry, parachute from a C-130E Hercules aircraft into a drop zone outside the city to conduct operations in support of Operation Just Cause.
context_page_description: The United States Invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos–Carter Treaties were ratified to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the U.S. to Panama by 1 January 2000. During the invasion, de facto Panamanian leader, general and dictator Manuel Noriega, who for a long time worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, was deposed citing racketeering and drug trafficking. Following the operation, the Panama Defense Forces were dissolved and President-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office.
context_section_description: The U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard participated in Operation Just Cause. Ground forces consisted of :
  combat elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps,
  the 82nd Airborne Division,
  the 7th Infantry Division (Light),
  the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne),
  the 75th Ranger Regiment,
  Tactical Air Control Parties from the 507th and 602nd Tactical Air Control Wings and the 24th Composite Wing
  Combat Controllers from the 1721st Combat Control Squadron
  a Joint Special Operations Task Force,
  elements of the 5th Infantry Division
  1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment
  4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment (replacing 1/61st in September 1989),
  16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Ft Bragg NC
  503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), Ft Bragg NC
  21st Military Police Company (Airborne), Ft Bragg NC
  65th Military Police Company, Ft Bragg NC
  108th Military Police Company (Air Assault), Ft Bragg NC
  519th Military Police Battalion
  1138th Military Police Company, Missouri Army National Guard
  988th Military Police Company, Ft Benning, GA
  555th Military Police Company, Ft Lee, VA
  193rd Infantry Brigade
  5th Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment
  1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment
  8th Ordnance Company (Ammo), Ft Bragg, NC (Select detachment attached to SOUTHCOM)
  Marine Security Forces Battalion Panama,
  Company K, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines Regiment,
  Marine Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams,
  2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion,
  2nd Marine Logistics Group 39th Combat Engineer Battalion Co C.
  511th Military Police Company, Ft Drum NY
  1097th Transportation Company (Medium Boat), Fort Davis, Panama
  Air logistic support was provided by the 22nd Air Force with air assets from the 60th, 62nd, and 63rd military airlift wings.
  The military incursion into Panama began on 20 December 1989, at 1:00 a.m. local time. The operation involved 27,684 U.S. troops and over 300 aircraft, including C-130 Hercules tactical transports flown by the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing (which was equipped with the Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System or AWADS) and 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, AC-130 Spectre gunships, OA-37B Dragonfly observation and attack aircraft, C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy strategic transports, F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft flown by the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The invasion of Panama was the first combat deployment for the AH-64, the HMMWV, and the F-117A. Panamanian radar units were jammed by two EF-111As of the 390th ECS, 366th TFW. These aircraft were deployed against the 16,000 members of the PDF.
  The operation began with an assault of strategic installations, such as the civilian Punta Paitilla Airport in Panama City and a PDF garrison and airfield at Rio Hato, where Noriega also maintained a residence. U.S. Navy SEALs destroyed Noriega's private jet and a Panamanian gunboat. A Panamanian ambush killed four SEALs and wounded nine. Other military command centers throughout the country were also attacked. The attack on the central headquarters of the PDF (referred to as La Comandancia) touched off several fires, one of which destroyed most of the adjoining and heavily populated El Chorrillo neighborhood in downtown Panama City. During the firefight at the Comandancia, the PDF downed two special operations helicopters and forced one MH-6 Little Bird to crash-land in the Panama Canal. The opening round of attacks in Panama City also included a special operations raid on the Carcel Modelo prison (known as Operation Acid Gambit) to free Kurt Muse, a U.S. citizen convicted of espionage by Noriega.
  Fort Amador was secured by elements of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division [Scouts] and 59th Engineer Company (sappers) in a nighttime air assault which secured the fort in the early hours of 20 December. Fort Amador was a key position because of its relationship to the large oil farms adjacent to the canal, the Bridge of the Americas over the canal, and the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. Key command and control elements of the PDF
caption: Elements of 1st Bn, 508th Infantry parachuting into a drop zone, during training, outside of Panama City.
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