HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command
HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command
HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command
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As captured on FLIR tape, an AC-130 pounds the<br />
Comandancia with 105mm cannon rounds.<br />
and friendly fire for over two hours, made it to<br />
the back wall (where they captured a PDF soldier),<br />
climbed the wall, and linked up with a TF<br />
GATOR blocking position.<br />
By now, buildings in the compound were<br />
ablaze, and the smoke obscured the area for the<br />
AC-130 firing. One TF GATOR element was<br />
fired upon by an AC-130, wounding 12 soldiers.<br />
A second AC-130 volley about an hour later<br />
wounded nine more. At first, the soldiers<br />
believed that they had been attacked by PDF<br />
mortars, but during the second volley, they realized<br />
it was coming from the AC-130 and called<br />
through the fire support network to end the<br />
shooting.<br />
During the attack on the Comandancia, a<br />
rescue force had entered the prison and freed the<br />
American citizen. The helicopter carrying part<br />
of the rescue force and the former prisoner was<br />
shot down and crashed in an<br />
alley to the north of the prison.<br />
Everyone on board, except the<br />
former prisoner, was injured to<br />
some degree, but the rescue<br />
force reacted as they had<br />
trained, formed a defensive<br />
position, contacted a TF<br />
GATOR blocking element, and<br />
were evacuated by M-113s.<br />
TF GATOR kept the<br />
Comandancia isolated during<br />
the day of 20 December and<br />
continued to receive sporadic<br />
sniper fire. That afternoon,<br />
Company C, 3rd BN, 75th Ranger Regiment<br />
arrived from Omar Torrijos International<br />
Airport to clear the Comandancia. All of these<br />
forces then engaged in follow-on missions.<br />
Task Force Red<br />
Task Force RED was the largest component<br />
of the JSOTF. It consisted of the Army’s 75th<br />
Ranger Regiment reinforced by contingents from<br />
the 4th Psychological <strong>Operations</strong> Group (POG)<br />
and 96th CA BN, and included Air Force <strong>Special</strong><br />
Tactics teams (combat controllers and pararescuemen)<br />
and Marine Corps/Naval Gunfire liaison<br />
troops. Close air support aircraft included<br />
AH-6 attack helicopters from the 160th SOAR<br />
(A), AC-130H gunships from the 1st <strong>Special</strong><br />
<strong>Operations</strong> Wing (SOW), and from the conventional<br />
forces, AH-64 Apaches and F-117A fighter-bombers.<br />
The task force was to perform two simultaneous<br />
airborne assaults at H-hour (0100 on 20<br />
December 1989). One contingent would parachute<br />
onto the Omar Torrijos International<br />
Airport/Tocumen military airport complex,<br />
while another would drop onto Rio Hato airfield.<br />
Upon securing these objectives, TF RED would<br />
then link-up with conventional forces for followon<br />
combat operations.<br />
The Assault on Torrijos<br />
Airport/Tocumen Airfield<br />
Omar Torrijos International Airport was the<br />
main international airport serving Panama, and<br />
the adjoining Tocumen Military Airfield was the<br />
home base of the Panamanian Air Force.<br />
After seizing the Torrijos Airport/Tocumen Airfield, Rangers cleared the<br />
Comandancia.<br />
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