1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
continued to verbally attack the United States
and to poison relations between the two countries.
His verbal attacks reached a climax on 15 December,
when he “declared war” on the United States.
On 16 December a US Marine officer was killed
by Panamanian troops, and another officer was
beaten by PDF soldiers at a checkpoint in Panama
City. With no diplomatic solution feasible and with
rising attacks against Americans in Panama,
President George Bush decided to execute Opera -
tion Just Cause on 17 December 1989. The follow -
ing day the Just Cause execute order was issued,
with H hour established as 0100 on 20 December
(D day). 11 Development of the
Blue Spoon Operations Order
The planning process for possible US intervention
in Panama officially began with the issuance
of a JCS planning order on 28 February
1988—after Noriega was indicted by a US grand
jury for drug trafficking. From that time until
the December 1989 invasion, a series of plans
were developed under the umbrella title of Operation
Elaborate Maze. During the 22-month
process, the name was changed to Operation
Prayer Book. Under the contingency plans, two
separate categories of operations emerged—one
focused on military force and the other on post–
Noriega restoration. The military force option
was titled Operation Blue Spoon and would later
emerge as Operation Just Cause. The post–Noriega
plans had three successive names—Operations
Krystal Ball, Blind Logic, and Promote Liberty.
Throughout most of 1988 the post–Noriega plans
received the most attention, but by 1989, with
rising hostilities towards the US military stationed
in Panama, the military force option came
to the forefront. 12
In August of 1989, Gen Maxwell R. Thurman
was designated the new USCINCSO, Quarry
Heights, Panama, and he focused most of his energy
on Blue Spoon. The plan had been under
intense revision since June 1989. Thurman later
would state that he did not spend five minutes on
the post–Noriega option. He was intent on developing
the campaign plan for what would become
Operation Just Cause. 13 The original Blue Spoon
OPORD did not address the capture of Noriega
but only the neutralization of the PDF as an in -
stitution. This would change as Noriega stepped
up his anti-US attacks. Over the summer of
1989, changes were made in the strategic objectives
of the plan. The planners made the basic
assumption that the simultaneous elimination of
all PDF areas by “overwhelming force” would be
required to ensure a successful operation and to
keep casualties at an absolute minimum. The
overwhelming force requirement resulted in the
addition of a brigade task force under the command
of Lt Gen Carl Stiner, USA, who was the
commander of the 18th Airborne Corps located at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The plan called for
the brigade task force to be introduced into Panama
by way of airborne assault at Torrijos/Tocumen
International Airport. General Stiner was
designated commander, JTF-South, and his headquarters
was assigned the responsibility to execute
the Blue Spoon OPORD. 14 All special operations
forces, including the 8th SOS Combat
Talons, were assigned to a JSOTF under the command
of Maj Gen Wayne Downing, USA. The
JSOTF was a subordinate command of JTF-
South, and General Downing reported directly to
General Stiner. After the plan was finalized in
early October, it was briefed to the JCS and was
approved for execution at the direction of the
president of the United States.
With Operation Blue Spoon finalized and approved
by JCS, a detailed rehearsal schedule was
developed to validate the plan. The conventional
airborne forces of JTF-South rehearsed their assigned
portion of the OPORD on 6 December, and
the JSOTF-assigned special operations forces did
the same during a quarterly joint exercise (JRT
90-1) from 6 to 18 December. During the night of
14 December, a full-scale airfield seizure and target
engagement dress rehearsal was executed,
thus validating the special operations portion of
the plan. While the JSOTF forces were redeploying
back to their home stations on 15 December
(the 8th SOS had participated in the JRT from
Hurlburt Field), the Panamanian National Assembly,
which was appointed by Noriega and controlled
by the PDF, declared Noriega head of the
Panamanian state. Noriega promptly delivered
his “state of war” message. Events rapidly esca -
lated over the next 48 hours, culminating in the
issuance of the Operation Just Cause execute order
on 18 December. 15
The Plan
The JCS-approved Blue Spoon OPORD called
for simultaneous attacks by conventional and special
operations forces on critical command and
control nodes and key transportation nodes, and
simultaneous defensive operations to protect US
citizens and the Panama Canal infrastructure.
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