of the people, but respected by them. We will be extending our hand to the PDF and then reraising him in a new image as a citizen or national policemen — whatever the new government decides.
'Practically all the fighting must be done in urban terrain — cities and built-up areas. We must limit the collateral damage — which translates to minimum loss of life on both sides — and limit all damage outside of what is strictly necessary to accomplish the mission.
'Accordingly, we will be forced to establish for ourselves specific rules of engagement that will limit our total combat capability. That is, we must limit ourselves to using only direct-fire weapons — individual rifles; machine guns; 66mm LAWs and AT-4 antitank weapons; Sheridan armored reconnaissance vehicles, with their large-caliber main guns; Apache helicopters with their hellfire missiles; AC-130 gunships; and artillery — the last three only in a direct-fire role for building-busting purposes. There'll be no 'area fire' weapons, such as mortars and bombing.
'These rules of engagement must be very clear, so that every person involved in this operation has a clear understanding of what he can and cannot do.
'As for planning, the staff is to concentrate on the conventional aspects of this operation, leaving the special operations part to General Luck's headquarters — specifically, the capture of Noriega and his henchmen. The Noriega gang must be neutralized in order to provide an environment where the civilian government can function without threat. All other special mission requirements will also be the responsibility of Luck's command, but when it comes time for execution, the two plans will be integrated. Luck will control the special operations side, reporting to me, the same as the other task force commanders.
'The success of this mission depends in large measure on the effectiveness of small units accomplishing their assigned missions. Therefore, I want to give them maximum flexibility and latitude in making the decisions necessary to accomplish their mission.'
He continued: '1 will personally begin work on structuring the command and control arrangements for this operation. These will be simple and direct — no unnecessary layering. As it stands right now, I plan to absorb the U.S. Army South headquarters into my headquarters (Joint Task Force South), making General Marc Cisneros my deputy.
'Because different forces from different services will be involved, we must have a joint CEOI [Command Communications and Electronic Operating Instructions], so we can talk to each other. I want this to be short and to the point, not a Sears, Roebuck catalog. Once it is developed, I plan to have an exercise where we can tweak all our radios and other means of communication, to ensure that we can talk to each other — and once we start this operation, we are not changing frequencies and call signs until it's over. We will conduct this operation with such momentum that it will not matter if the PDF gets hold of one of our CEOIs, because they won't be able to do anything with it anyhow.'
'Finally, within four days I want to see a draft plan that I can have in the hands of my major subordinate commanders within five days, to allow them time to study it before our next meeting in Panama, when I plan to have them present.'
COMMAND RELATIONSHIPS
Within four days, a draft operations plan was completed. This included command-and-control relationships:
Beginning at the top was General Thurman, CINC South.
Immediately under him was Lieutenant General Stiner, Commander Joint Task Force South. When Stiner's headquarters absorbed the Headquarters of U.S. Army South, Major General Marc Cisneros became Stiner's deputy commander, and Cisneros's staff principals became deputies to the staff principals of the XVIII Airborne Corps.
Directly underneath Stiner were six task forces, as follows:1. The Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF) was headed by Major General Gary Luck. All special mission forces in Panama were to be under his command and control.2. The Air Component was commanded by Lieutenant General Pete Kemph, the 12th Air Force Commander. All the planning for tactical air support would initially be handled by Brigadier General Bruce Fister, Gary Luck's deputy. After the initial assault, control of all aviation assets would revert to Pete Kemph.3. Task Force Bayonet, headed by Colonel Mike Snell, was to be made up of the 193rd Brigade already stationed in Panama.4. Task Force Pacific was to be headed by Major General Jim Johnson, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and his Division Ready Brigade (DRB) — approximately 4,000 paratroopers, with all weapons and equipment, including twelve more Sheridans.5. Task Force Atlantic would initially be commanded by Colonel Keith Kellogg, the 7th Infantry Division's 3d Brigade Commander, already in Panama.6. Task Force Semper Fi was headed by Colonel Charles Richardson, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Battalion already brought in during the May 1989 buildup.
These officers were responsible for completing their portion of the plan, and then for rehearsing it.
The units already in Panama (12,000 troops), together with those coming from the United States at H-hour and throughout the first day, would bring the troop total to more than 26,000. By comparison, the earlier version of BLUE SPOON provided only 10,000 additional troops (total: 22,000) over twenty-two days. At H-hour there would be enough forces available to secure twenty-four of the twenty-seven planned targets. The three remaining — Panama Viejo (on the eastern side of Panama City), Tinajitas, and Fort Cimarron — would be secured by battalion air assaults conducted by the 82nd Airborne Division DRB, who would jump into Tocumcn International Airport at H+45 minutes. The airport itself would be taken by Rangers, who were to jump in at H-hour. After landing, the 82nd was to assume operational control of the Rangers and take responsibility for security of the airport.
If all went as planned, the heavy fighting should be over by daylight, with all targets either neutralized or protected, as the case may be.
Later that day, the remaining two brigades of the 7th Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Carmen Cavezza, would arrive from Fort Ord, California, while the remainder of the 16th Military Police Brigade would fly in from Fort Bragg. These units would round out the forces necessary to bring stability and security to Panama City and Colon, and in time to the rest of the country.
On Friday, October 13, Carl Stiner drove from Fort Bragg to Knoxville, Tennessee, for his daughter Carla's wedding the next day at the Ball Camp Baptist Church. Just in case he couldn't make it, he had arranged for his brother Tom to stand in; but in fact, everything worked out fine — with one hang-up. When he linked up with his wife, Sue, at the Holiday Inn, he found her sitting there with a shoe off and pain on her face.
'What's wrong?'
'I broke a bone in my foot yesterday,' she answered, 'and it hurts bad.'
'Arc you going to be able to go through with the wedding?'
'One way or another. This is my first daughter's wedding, and I'm certainly going to do my part. What I want you to do is go out and get me an ace bandage, and wrap my foot real tight. We've got to get on over to the rehearsal.'
