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2" X 3 1/2" EMBROIDERED TAB  "COMBAT VETERAN" OPERATION URGENT FURY - 1983 - INVASION OF GRENADA                                                     


THE GRENADA INVASION

 
     
Operation Urgent Fury was a   1983 United States-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with   a population of about 91,000 located 100 miles (160 km) north of   Venezuela, that resulted in a U.S. victory within a matter of weeks.   Triggered by a bloody military coup which had ousted a four-year   revolutionary government, the invasion resulted in a restoration of   constitutional government. Media outside the U.S. covered the invasion in   a negative outlook despite the OAS request for intervention (on the   request of the U.S. government), Soviet and Cuban presence on the island   and the presence of American medical students at the True Blue Medical   Facility. Grenada gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. The   leftist New Jewel Movement seized power in a coup in 1979, suspending the   constitution. After a 1983 internal power struggle ended with the   deposition and murder of revolutionary Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, the   invasion began early on 25 October 1983, just two days and several hours   after the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut (early 23 October   Beirut time). The U.S. Army's Rapid Deployment Force (1st, 2nd Ranger   Battalions and 82nd Airborne Division Paratroopers), U.S. Marines, U.S.   Army Delta Force and U.S. Navy SEALs and other combined forces comprised   the 7,600 troops from the United States, Jamaica, and members of the   Regional Security System (RSS) defeated Grenadian resistance after a   low-altitude airborne assault by the 75th Rangers on Point Salines Airport   on the southern end of the island while a Marine helicopter and amphibious   landing occurred on the northern end at Pearl's Airfield shortly   afterward. The military government of Hudson Austin was deposed and   replaced by a government appointed by Governor-General Paul Scoon until   elections were held in 1984. While the invasion enjoyed broad public   support in the United States, and received support from some sectors in   Grenada from local groups who viewed the post-coup regime as illegitimate,   it was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United Nations   General Assembly, which condemned it as "a flagrant violation of   international law". The U.S. awarded more than 5,000 medals for merit and   valor.

The date of the invasion is   now a national holiday in Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day, and the Point   Salines International Airport was renamed in honor of Prime Minister   Maurice Bishop. The invasion highlighted issues with communication and   coordination between the branches of the United States military,   contributing to investigations and sweeping changes, in the form of the   Goldwater–Nichols Act and other reorganizations.
 
"A lovely little war"   was what one correspondent called the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada. Most   saw Operation Urgent Fury, its official name, as a guaranteed victory. The   Caribbean island, the smallest independent country in the Western   Hemisphere, was no match for American military might. Reagan championed   the invasion as another step toward ridding the world of Communism, but   the big victory over the little island also served as a major public   relations coup for the recently battered administration.
 
On October 13, 1983,   Reagan was made aware of possible trouble in Grenada. Deputy Prime   Minister Bernard Coard, a Communist hard-liner backed by the Grenadian   Army, had deposed Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and established military   rule. Six days later, Bishop was murdered. A socialist with ties to Cuba,   Bishop had been taking his time making Grenada wholly socialist; he had   encouraged private-sector development in an attempt to make the island a   popular tourist destination. With the Communist Coard in power, Reagan   grew more concerned.
 
Reagan was most   concerned by the presence of Cuban construction workers and military   personnel building a 10,000-foot airstrip on Grenada. Though Bishop had   claimed the purpose of the airstrip was to allow commercial jets to land,   Reagan believed its purpose was to allow military transport planes loaded   with arms from Cuba to be transferred to Central American insurgents.
 
Also weighing on Reagan   was the security of the 800 American medical students enrolled at St.   George's School of Medicine in the former British commonwealth. After the   coup, there was violence and anarchy, and with martial law and a   shoot-on-sight curfew in effect in Grenada, Reagan was joined by many of   his advisers, as well as much of the American public, in believing that   the rescue of the American students was justification for an invasion.
 
Grenada had been   something of a pet project for Reagan since his visit to Barbados in 1982,   where Caribbean leaders echoed Reagan's own fear: that Grenada, with its   socialist government and proximity to Cuba, could become a Communist   beachhead in the Caribbean. While Reagan had been focused on Grenada for   some time, he was unfairly accused of using the invasion to distract   attention from other world events.
 
On October 23, a suicide   bomber drove his truck into a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut. According to   the official report, "The force of the explosion ripped the building from   its foundation.… Almost all the occupants were crushed or trapped inside   the wreckage." Numbers told an even more devastating story. The bomb,   which had produced the largest non-nuclear blast on record, exploded with   the force of 12,000 pounds of TNT and killed 241 Marines. Reagan's   placement of the Marines as peacekeepers of a tenuous cease-fire between   Christians and Muslims in Lebanon had been divisive from the start.   Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger had repeatedly called for the   withdrawal of forces, insisting that Lebanon was too unstable and of   little strategic importance to the United States; Secretary of State   George Shultz reflected Reagan's view that a U.S. presence was essential   to maintaining peace.
 
Although the final   decision to invade Grenada was made shortly after the Beirut bombings, by   the time of the massacre in October 1983, Reagan had all but officially   approved the invasion of Grenada. The accusation that the bombing in   Lebanon motivated the invasion was, therefore, unfounded. If anything, one   reporter argued, the destruction of the Marine barracks may have caused   Reagan to hesitate.

 On October 25, U.S. Marines invaded Grenada,   where they encountered unexpectedly heavy antiaircraft fire and ground   resistance by the Cuban soldiers and laborers building the controversial   airstrip. In two days they subdued the air and ground forces.
 
Reagan's credibility was   bolstered by what the 5,000-strong American invading force found on the   island: a cache of weapons that could arm 10,000 men -- automatic rifles,   machine guns, rocket launchers, antiaircraft guns, howitzers, cannon,   armored vehicles and coastal patrol boats. In all, out of 800 Cubans, 59   were killed, 25 were wounded, and the rest were returned to Havana upon   surrender. Forty-five Grenadians died, and 337 were wounded. America also   suffered casualties: 19 dead and 119 wounded. The medical students came   home unharmed.

 For Reagan, Grenada was an unmitigated success:   a defeat of Communism and Castro, and a warning to the Marxist Sandinistas   in Nicaragua. Fortunately for Reagan, by the time of the 1984 election,   the Grenada success replaced the bitter memory of the massacre at Lebanon.
 

 Background
 Initial troop invasion areas
 Sir Eric Gairy had led Grenada to independence   from the United Kingdom in 1974. His term in office coincided with civil   strife in Grenada. The political environment was highly charged and   although Gairy – head of the Grenada United Labour Party – claimed victory   in the general election of 1976, the opposition did not accept the result   as legitimate. The civil strife took the form of street violence between   Gairy's private army, the Mongoose Gang, and gangs organized by the New   Jewel Movement (NJM). In the late 1970s, the NJM began planning to   overthrow the government. Party members began to receive military training   outside of Grenada. On 13 March 1979 while Gairy was out of the country,   the NJM – led by Maurice Bishop – launched an armed revolution and   overthrew the government, establishing the People's Revolutionary   Government.

 On 16 October 1983, a party faction led by   Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard seized power. Bishop was placed under   house arrest. Mass protests against the action led to Bishop escaping   detention and reasserting his authority as the head of the government.   Bishop was eventually captured and murdered along with several government   officials loyal to him. The army under Hudson Austin then stepped in and   formed a military council to rule the country. The Governor-General, Paul   Scoon, was placed under house arrest. The army announced a four-day total   curfew where anyone seen on the streets would be subject to summary   execution.

 The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States   (OECS), as well as the nations of Barbados and Jamaica, appealed to the   United States for assistance. According to a reporter for The New York   Times, this formal appeal was at the request of the U.S. government, which   had already decided to take military action. U.S. officials cited the   murder of Bishop and general political instability in a country near U.S.   borders, as well as the presence of U.S. medical students at St. George's   University, as reasons for military action. The reporter also claimed that   the latter reason was cited in order to gain public support. It was later   revealed that Grenada's Governor-General, Paul Scoon, had requested the   invasion through secret diplomatic channels. Scoon was well within his   rights to take this action under the reserve powers vested in the Crown.   On 25 October, Grenada was invaded by the combined forces of the United   States and the Regional Security System (RSS) based in Barbados, in an   operation codenamed Operation Urgent Fury. The U.S. stated this was done   at the request of the prime ministers of Barbados and Dominica, Tom Adams   and Dame Eugenia Charles, respectively. Nonetheless, the invasion was   highly criticised by the governments in Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, and   the United Kingdom. The United Nations General Assembly condemned it as "a   flagrant violation of international law" by a vote of 108 in favour to 9,   with 27 abstentions. The United Nations Security Council considered a   similar resolution, which failed to pass when vetoed by the United States.
 

The Airport
 The Bishop government began constructing the   Point Salines International Airport with the help of Britain, Cuba, Libya,   Algeria, and other nations. The airport had been first proposed by the   British government in 1954, when Grenada was still a British colony. It   had been designed by Canadians, underwritten by the British government,   and partly built by a London firm. The U.S. government accused Grenada of   constructing facilities to aid a Soviet-Cuban military build-up in the   Caribbean based upon the 9,000 ft length, which could accommodate the   largest Soviet aircraft like the An-12, An-22 and the An-124, which would   enhance the Soviet and Cuban transportation of weapons to Central American   insurgents and expand Soviet regional influence. Bishop’s government   claimed that the airport was built to accommodate commercial aircraft   carrying tourists, pointing out that such jets could not land at Pearl's   Airstrip on the island’s north end (5,200 ft) and couldn't be expanded   because its runway abutted a mountain and the ocean at the other end.
 
In 1983, then-Member of   the United States House of Representatives Ron Dellums (D, California),   traveled to Grenada on a fact-finding mission, having been invited by the   country's prime minister. Dellums described his findings before Congress:   "based on my personal observations, discussion and analysis of the new   international airport under construction in Grenada, it is my conclusion   that this project is specifically now and has always been for the purpose   of economic development and is not for military use" It is my thought that   it is absurd, patronizing and totally unwarranted for the United States   Government to charge that this airport poses a military threat to the   United States’ national security. In March 1983, U.S President Ronald   Reagan began issuing warnings about the threat posed to the United States   and the Caribbean by the "Soviet-Cuban militarization" of the Caribbean as   evidenced by the excessively long airplane runway being built, as well as   intelligence sources indicating increased Soviet interest in the island.   He said that the 9,000-foot (2,700 m) runway and the numerous fuel storage   tanks were unnecessary for commercial flights, and that evidence pointed   that the airport was to become a Cuban-Soviet forward military airbase.
 

The Invasion
 The invasion, which commenced at 05:00 on 25   October 1983, began when forces refuelled and departed from the Grantley   Adams International Airport on the nearby Caribbean island of Barbados   before daybreak en route to Grenada. It was the first major operation   conducted by the U.S. military since the Vietnam War. Vice Admiral Joseph   Metcalf, III, Commander Second Fleet, was the overall commander of U.S.   forces, designated Joint Task Force 120, which included elements of each   military service and multiple special operations units. Fighting continued   for several days and the total number of U.S. troops reached some 7,000   along with 300 troops from the OAS. The invading forces encountered about   1,500 Grenadian soldiers and about 700 Cubans.
 
According to journalist   Bob Woodward in his book Veil, the supposed captured "military advisers"   from the aforementioned countries were actually accredited diplomats and   included their dependents. None took any actual part in the fighting.   However, some of the "construction workers" were actually a detachment of   Cuban Military Special Forces and combat engineers. Official U.S. sources   state that some of the defenders were well-prepared, well-positioned and   put up stubborn resistance, to the extent that the U.S. called in two   battalions of reinforcements on the evening of 26 October. The total naval   and air superiority of the coalition forces – including helicopter   gunships and naval gunfire support – overwhelmed the local forces. Nearly   eight thousand soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines had participated in   Operation Urgent Fury along with 353 Caribbean allies of the Caribbean   Peace Forces (CPF). U.S. Forces sustained 19 killed and 116 wounded; Cuban   forces sustained 25 killed, 59 wounded and 638 combatants captured.   Grenadian forces casualties were 45 killed and 358 wounded; at least 24   civilians were killed, 18 of whom were killed in the accidental bombing of   a Grenadian mental hospital.
 


 Reaction in the United States
 A month after the invasion, Time magazine   described it as having "broad popular support". A congressional study   group concluded that the invasion had been justified, as most members felt   that U.S. students at the university near a contested runway could have   been taken hostage as U.S. diplomats in Iran had been four years   previously. The group's report caused House Speaker Tip O'Neill to change   his position on the issue from opposition to support.
 
However, some members of   the study group dissented from its findings. Congressman Louis Stokes,   D-Ohio, stated: "Not a single American child nor single American national   was in any way placed in danger or placed in a hostage situation prior to   the invasion." The Congressional Black Caucus denounced the invasion and   seven Democratic congressmen, led by Ted Weiss, introduced an unsuccessful   resolution to impeach Ronald Reagan. In the evening of 25 October 1983 by   telephone, on the newscast Nightline, anchor Ted Koppel spoke to medical   students on Grenada who stated that they were safe and did not feel their   lives were in danger. The next evening, again by telephone, medical   students told Koppel how grateful they were for the invasion and the Army   Rangers, which probably saved their lives. State Department officials had   assured the medical students that they would be able to complete their   medical school education in the United States.
 


 International reaction
 By a vote of 108 in favour to 9 (Antigua and   Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, El Salvador, Israel, Jamaica, Saint Lucia,   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States) voting against,   with 27 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly adopted General   Assembly Resolution 38/7 which "deeply deplores the armed intervention in   Grenada, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and   of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that State".   The USSR government observed that Grenada had for a long time been the   object of United States threats, that the invasion violated international   law, and that no small nation not to the liking of the United States would   find itself safe if the aggression against Grenada was not rebuffed. The   governments of some countries stated that the United States intervention   was a return to the era of barbarism. The governments of other countries   said the United States by its invasion had violated several treaties and   conventions to which it was a party. A similar resolution was discussed in   the United Nations Security Council and although receiving widespread   support it was ultimately vetoed by the United States. President of the   United States Ronald Reagan, when asked if he was concerned by the   lopsided 108–9 vote in the UN General Assembly said "it didn't upset my   breakfast at all."
 Grenada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations   and, following the invasion, it requested help from other Commonwealth   members. The invasion was opposed by the United Kingdom, Trinidad and   Tobago, and Canada, among others. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher   personally opposed the U.S. invasion, and the British Foreign Secretary,   Geoffrey Howe, announced to the British House of Commons on the day before   the invasion that he had no knowledge of any possible U.S. intervention.   At 12:30 am Tuesday 25 October, on the morning of the invasion, Thatcher   sent a message to Reagan: This action will be seen as intervention by a   Western country in the internal affairs of a small independent nation,   however unattractive its regime. I ask you to consider this in the context   of our wider East/West relations and of the fact that we will be having in   the next few days to present to our Parliament and people the siting of   Cruise missiles in this country. I must ask you to think most carefully   about these points. I cannot conceal that I am deeply disturbed by your   latest communication. You asked for my advice. I have set it out and hope   that even at this late stage you will take it into account before events   are irrevocable. (The full text remains classified.) When she telephoned   Reagan twenty minutes later, he assured Thatcher that an invasion was not   contemplated. Reagan later said, "She was very adamant and continued to   insist that we cancel our landings on Grenada. I couldn't tell her that it   had already begun."

 
Aftermath
 Following the U.S. victory, Scoon assumed power   as interim head of government. He formed an advisory council which named   Nicholas Brathwaite as interim prime minister pending new elections.   Democratic elections held in December 1984 were won by the Grenada   National Party and a government was formed led by Prime Minister Herbert   Blaize.

 U.S. forces remained in Grenada after combat   operations finished in December as part of Operation Island Breeze.   Elements remaining, including military police, special forces, and a   specialized intelligence detachment, performed security missions and   assisted members of the Caribbean Peacekeeping Force and the Royal   Grenadian Police Force.
 

 United States
 The invasion showed problems with the U.S.   government's "information apparatus," which Time described as still being   in "some disarray" three weeks after the invasion. For example, the U.S.   State Department falsely claimed that a mass grave had been discovered   that held 100 bodies of islanders who had been killed by Communist forces.   Major General Norman Schwarzkopf, deputy commander of the invasion force,   said that 160 Grenadian soldiers and 71 Cubans had been killed during the   invasion; the Pentagon had given a much lower count of 59 Cuban and   Grenadian deaths. Ronald H. Cole's report for the Joint Chiefs of Staff   showed an even lower count. Also of concern were the problems that the   invasion showed with the military. There was a lack of intelligence about   Grenada, which exacerbated the difficulties faced by the quickly assembled   invasion force. For example, it was not known that the students were   actually at two different campuses and there was a thirty-hour delay in   reaching students at the second campus. Maps provided to soldiers on the   ground were tourist maps on which military grid reference lines were drawn   by hand to report locations of units and request artillery and aircraft   fire support. They also did not show topography and were not marked with   crucial positions. U.S. Navy ships providing naval gunfire and U.S.   Marine, U.S. Air Force and navy fighter/bomber support aircraft providing   close air support mistakenly fired upon and killed U.S. ground forces due   to differences in maps and location coordinates, data, and methods of   calling for fire support. Communications between services were also noted   as not being compatible and hindered the coordination of operations. The   landing strip was drawn-in by hand on the map given to some members of the   invasion force. A heavily fictionalized account of the invasion from a   U.S. military perspective is shown in the 1986 Clint Eastwood motion   picture Heartbreak Ridge, in which marines replaced the actual roles of   army units due to the movie's portrayal of several incompetent officers   and NCOs for which the army opted out its military support of the movie.
 

 Goldwater-Nichols Act
 Analysis by the U.S. Department of Defense   showed a need for improved communications and coordination between the   branches of the U.S. forces. U.S. Congressional investigations of many of   the reported problems resulted in the most important legislative change   affecting the U.S. military organization, doctrine, career progression,   and operating procedures since the end of World War II – the   Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 (Pub.   L.99–433). The Goldwater-Nichols Act reworked the command structure of the   United States military, thereby making the most sweeping changes to the   United States Department of Defense since the department was established   in the National Security Act of 1947. It increased the powers of the   Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and created the concept of a truly   unified joint U.S. forces (i.e., Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy forces   organized under one command). One of the first reorganizations resulting   from both the Department of Defense analysis and the legislation was the   formation of the U.S. Special Operations Command in 1987.
 

Other
 October 25 is a national holiday in Grenada,   called Thanksgiving Day, to commemorate the invasion. St. George's   University built a monument on its True Blue Campus to memorialize the   U.S. servicemen killed during the invasion, and marks the day with an   annual memorial ceremony. In 2008, the Government of Grenada announced a   move to build a monument to honour the Cubans killed during the invasion.   At the time of the announcement the Cuban and Grenadian government are   still seeking to locate a suitable site for the monument. On 29 May 2009   the Point Salines International Airport was officially renamed in honour   of the slain pre-coup leader Maurice Bishop by the Government of Grenada.
 


 Order of Battle
 Operation Urgent Fury
 Leading joint forces, Vice Admiral Joseph   Metcalf, III, COMSECONDFLT, became Commander, Joint Task Force 120 (CJTF   120), and commanded units from the Air Force, Army, Navy, and the Marine   Corps. Vice Admiral Metcalf assigned to the amphibious force, designated   Task Force 124, the mission of seizing the Pearls Airport and the port of   Grenville, and of neutralizing any opposing forces in the area.   Simultaneously, Army Rangers (Task Force 121) – together with elements of   the 82d Airborne Division (Task Force 123) – would secure points at the   southern end of the island, including the nearly completed jet airfield   under construction near Point Salines. Task Group 20.5, a carrier battle   group built around USS Independence (CV-62), and Air Force elements would   support the ground forces.
 
U.S. ground forces
 U.S. Army 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions 75th   Infantry Regiment conducted a low-level parachute assault to secure Point   Salinas Airport. Hunter Army Airfield, GA and Ft. Lewis, WA
 U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division – 2nd Brigade   Task Force (325th Airborne Infantry Regiment plus supporting units) and   3rd Brigade Task Force (1st and 2nd Battalions of the 505th Parachute   Infantry Regiment, 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 508th Parachute Infantry   Regiment, plus supporting units). Fort Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army 9th Psychological Operations Battalion   (Airborne) of the 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) – provided   loudspeaker support and dissemination of informational pamphlets. Fort   Bragg, NC
U.S.   Army 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta (AKA Delta Force)   Fort Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army 27th Engineer Battalion of the 20th Engineer Brigade (Airborne),   Fort Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army 548th Engineer Battalion Ft Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army 44th Medical Brigade – Personnel from   the 44th Medical Brigade and operational units including the 5th MASH were   deployed. Fort Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation   Regiment (Airborne) Ft Campbell, KY
 U.S. Army 18th Aviation Company, 269th Aviation   Battalion Ft. Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army 35th Signal Brigade, Ft. Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army 50th Signal Battalion, 35th Signal   Brigade, Ft. Bragg, NC
 US Navy SEAL Team 4 Little Creek, VA and US Navy   SEAL Team 6 Virginia Beach, VA
 U.S. Marine Corps 22nd Marine Amphibious Unit   Camp Lejeune, NC
 U.S. Army 1st Corps Support Command COSCOM, 7th Trans Battalion, 546th LMT   Fort Bragg, NC
 U.S. Air Force 5th Weather Squadron, 5th Weather Wing (MAC) Fort Bragg, NC   – jump qualified Combat Weathermen who are attached and deployed with the   82nd, now in AFSOC
 U.S. Air Force Detachment 1, 507th Tactical Air   Control Wing (Fort Bragg, NC) - jump qualified TACPs who were attached to   and deployed with the 82d Airborne, Fort Bragg, NC (now the 14th ASOS,   part of the 18th Air Support Operations Group)
 U.S. Air Force 21st Tactical Air Support   Squadron (Shaw AFB, SC) – jump qualified FACs who were attached to and   deployed with Detachment 1, 507th Tac Air Control Wg and the 82d Airborne,   Fort Bragg, NC
 U.S. Army Co E (Scout) 60th Infantry Regiment (United States) (later   designated:Co E (Long Range Surveillance) 109th MI Battalion, of the 9th   Infantry Division (Motorized), Fort Lewis, WA (1984)
 U.S. Army 411th MP Company of the 89th Military   Police Brigade, III Corps, Ft. Hood, Texas
 U.S. Army 65th MP Company (Airborne), 118th MP   Company (Airborne), and HHD, 503rd MP Battalion (Airborne) of the 16th   Military Police Brigade (Airborne), XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, NC
 82nd Finance Company MPT
 

 U.S. Air Force
 U.S. Air National Guard – provided A-7D Corsair II ground-attack aircraft   for close air support
 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing – provided close air   support for allied forces with A-10 Warthogs
 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing – provided air   superiority cover for allied forces with F-15 Eagles
 437th Military Airlift Wing – provided airlift   support with C-141 Starlifters
 16th Special Operations Wing – flew AC-130H   Spectre gunships
 317th Military Airlift Wing – provided airlift support with Lockheed C-130   Hercules (Pope AFB NC) Fort Bragg, NC
 63d Military Airlift Wing – 63rd Security Police   Squadron provided airfield security support – (Norton AFB CA)
 443rd Airlift Wing,443rd Security Police   Squadron (Altus AFB, Oklahoma) – provided a 44 man Airbase Ground Defence   flight (Oct–Nov 1983)
 19th Air Refueling Wing – provided aerial   refueling support for all other aircraft
 507th Tactical Air Control Wing (elements of the   21st TASS at Shaw AFB, SC and Detachment 1, Fort Bragg, NC) – provided   Tactical Air Control Parties (TACPs) in support of the 82nd Airborne   Division
552nd ACW   Boeing E-3A AWACS
 62nd Security Police Group (Provisional) Multi Squadron Law Enforcement &   Security Forces – Prisoner detaining and transport attached to 82nd   Airborne
60th   Military Airlift Wing- 60th Security Police Squadron Travis AFB CA   provided airfield security in Grenada as well as Barbados.
 

 U.S. Navy
Two   formations of U.S. warship took part in the invasion. Amphibious Squadron   Four comprised USS Guam (LPH-9), USS Barnstable County (LST-1197), USS   Manitowoc (LST-1180), USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30), and USS Trenton   (LPD-14). The Independence carrier battle group, Carrier Group Four, was   allocated the designation Task Group 20.5 for the operation. Independence   Carrier Battle Group