Photo By Erin Thompson | Members of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, deploying to...... read more read more
by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian
313TH MI BATTALION DEPLOYS FOR OPERATION GOLDEN PHEASANT
On Mar. 17, 1988, the 313th MI Battalion deployed to Honduras for Operation GOLDEN PHEASANT. Over the next ten days, battalion personnel assisted in forcing Nicaragua to withdraw its troops from Honduras.
In the late 1970s, Nicaragua was in the midst of a violent revolution when the socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front overthrew Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia. Although the United States initially supported the Sandinistas, it worried about the new government’s increasingly violent activities and attempts to assert communist influence over other Latin American countries. In response, the U.S. began supporting Nicaragua’s right-wing, anti-communist militia, known as the counterrevolutionaries or “Contras.”
Several Contra training camps were established in the early 1980s in Honduras, which sits on Nicaragua’s northern border. U.S. military personnel frequently traveled to these camps to support training activities and help establish forward airbases along the border. When the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provided evidence of Sandinista attacks on Contra bases in Honduras in the late summer of 1984, the U.S. Army launched a military exercise to demonstrate its continued support to the Contras. Project DRAGONFISH ran from Oct. 15 to Dec. 19, 1984, near the capital of Tegucigalpa. The 313th MI Battalion provided signal intelligence (SIGINT) and human intelligence (HUMINT) collection, analysis, and dissemination support for the exercise, earning it an Army Superior Unit Award.
By 1988, Nicaragua was facing severe economic and social upheaval due to its heavy military spending to defeat the Contras. In an effort to end the civil war, the Sandinistas agreed to meet with the Contras, as well as representatives from the Honduran and American governments. During these meetings in early March 1988, the Sandinistas threatened to end negotiations over claims the Contras were launching mortars into Nicaragua. However, CIA and military intelligence sources alleged the attacks were being perpetrated by Sandinista insurgency troops in Honduras. The U.S. was determined once again to showcase its support of the Contras and push these troops out of Honduras.
On Mar. 17, 1988, the XVIII Airborne Corps initiated an emergency deployment readiness exercise known as Operation GOLDEN PHEASANT. Elements of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 82d Airborne Division, deployed as Task Force Crocker—named for 1st Brigade commander Col. (later Lt. Gen.) George A. Crocker. Landing on the Honduran–Nicaraguan border between Mar. 17–18, the 504th PIR’s 1st and 2d Battalions performed an airborne assault of the secured Palmerola Air Base (Soto Cano Air Base) “in a show of force to demonstrate the 82nd’s capabilities and competence.” Once inside Honduras, the 504th’s battalions, along with two battalions from the 7th Infantry Division, joined with Honduran Army forces to conduct combined arms and interoperability training, including border patrols to further demonstrate U.S. military resolve against the Sandinistas.
Alpha Company, 313th MI Battalion, provided Spanish linguists, SIGINT, measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), and HUMINT support for the 82d Airborne Division throughout the operation. According to the 313th MI Battalion’s history:
"Alpha/313th placed their HUMINT assets with the Battalion and Brigade Headquarters to provide translation and host country interaction as necessary. They deployed MASINT and SIGINT forces along the borders at the unit flanks to provide early warning and force protection during the entire operation. Their performance was outstanding and their mission was critical since it released most of the infantry soldiers to do longer and more effective security patrols. Not only did the 313th Military Intelligence elements prevent raids or surprise attacks, but they also allowed the rest of the Task Force to move out and array themselves along the border far quicker than the Sandinistas expected."
Operation GOLDEN PHEASANT ended on Mar. 28, having successfully pushed the Sandinistas back across the border, ceasing further mortar attacks and allowing the Contras to recover lost supplies. The combined show of force weakened the Sandinista’s bargaining position and allowed for continued truce negotiations with the Contras.
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| Date Taken: | 03.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.14.2025 14:51 |
| Story ID: | 492923 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
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