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| The entire Ranger Regiment participated in Operation "Just Cause" in Panama. Rangers spearheaded the action by conducting an early morning parachute assault onto Omar Torrijos International Airport and Tocumen Military Airfield, to neutralize the Panamanian Defense Forces PDF 2d Rifle Company, and secure airfields for the arrival of the 82d Airborne Division. Other Ranger battalions, conducted a parachute assault onto the airfield at Rio Hato, to neutralize the PDF Rifle Companies and seize General Manuel Noriega's beach house. The capture of key targets identified as Rio Hato and Torrijos/Tocumen airfields had to be executed simultaneously. The Ranger force would only have 45 minutes to parachute onto their respective airfields and secure them before follow-on forces from the 82d Airborne Division would begin arriving to allow the Rangers to plan and execute their next missions. Conducting low-level parachute assaults, the Rangers exited their transports at 500 feet with full combat loads averaging 120 pounds. Fourteen of the fifteen C-130 transports over Rio Hato were struck by ground fire. Their total time of descent was less than 12 seconds! Before his capture, General Noriega took refuge in the Papal Nuncio's residence in Panama City, American troops directed loudspeakers his way in an attempt to blast him out. This was known unofficially as the "Rock and Roll Assault." U.S. Southern Command Network (SCN) radio actually took requests from U.S troops for this purpose. SCN eventually became overwhelmed with requests and eventually had to stop taking them. The songs chosen obviously had some meaning: "Guilty" - Bonham "Hello, We're Here" - Tom T Hall "Judgement Day" - Whitesnake "Just Like Jesse James" - Cher "Nowhere Man" - Beatles "The Party's Over" - Journey "Who Will You Run To" - Heart "Hang'em High" - Van Halen and many others. The Rangers captured 1,014 Enemy Prisoners of War, and over 18,000 arms of various types. The Rangers sustained 5 killed and 42 wounded. |
| Ranger, 75th Ranger Regiment, Panama, 1989 |