HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command

Jacobelly, who also served as commander of
Special Operations Command, South (SOC-
SOUTH). Before H-hour, SOCSOUTH personnel
and the headquarters unit of 3rd BN, 7th
SFG (A) moved to Albrook Air Force Base and
together served as the TF BLACK headquarters
and staff.
The 3rd BN, 7th SFG (A), commanded by
LTC Roy R. Trumbull, formed the core of TF
BLACK and was reinforced by Company A, 1st
BN, 7th SFG (A) from Fort Bragg. TF BLACK
had the use of five MH-60 helicopters from the
617th Special Operations Aviation Detachment
and two UH-60 helicopters from the 1st BN,
228th Aviation Regiment. Air Force AC-130s
from the 1st SOW were available to provide fire
support.
H-hour Missions
45
At H-hour, TF BLACK was to perform two
reconnaissance and surveillance missions. The
first, conducted by a SF team from Company B,
3rd BN, 7th SFG (A), was to observe the PDF’s
Battalion 2000 at Fort Cimarron. By the time
the team was in place, however, Battalion 2000
had already left the fort. The second mission
involved watching the 1st PDF Company at
Tinajitas. These SF did not see or hear anything
except for two mortar rounds being fired early in
the morning.
Another reconnaissance mission was
changed to direct action: seize and deny use of
the Pacora River Bridge. The TF BLACK element,
commanded by MAJ Kevin
M. Higgins, consisted of 24 men
from Company A, 3rd BN, 7th SFG
(A), and 3 helicopters. The bridge
was the best place to prevent PDF
Battalion 2000 from moving out of
Fort Cimarron to Panama City. At
ten minutes after midnight, small
arms fire broke out at Albrook AFB
while the troops were preparing to
load onto their helicopters.
Higgins and his troops dashed to
the waiting aircraft and departed
under fire.
As the helicopters neared the
bridge, the lead helicopter pilot
spotted a column of six PDF vehicles
approaching. It was now 0045, the new H-
hour, and the mission had become a race
between the SF troops and the PDF convoy to
see who would take the bridge first.
After the helicopters landed, MAJ Higgins
yelled orders to his men to move up the steep
slope and establish the ambush position by the
road, but his men had already seized the initiative.
The first man on the road looked straight
into the headlights of the convoy’s lead vehicle
(which was already on the bridge) and fired a
light anti-tank weapon. He missed, but the next
two Special Forces soldiers did not. Then
Special Forces gunners armed with squad automatic
weapons (SAWs) opened up on the column
with automatic weapons fire, and M203 gunners
started firing grenades into the column.
With the column halted, the Air Force CCT
contacted an AC-130 and directed fire onto the
PDF column. The AC-130 responded with devastating
fire, forcing the PDF soldiers out of the
trucks, and this circling aircraft provided vital
intelligence on enemy movements. A second AC-
130 was called in, providing additional firepower
and surveillance, and the Special Operations
Forces successfully repelled all PDF attempts to
cross the bridge or the river.
At daybreak, the TF BLACK quick reaction
force arrived to reinforce Higgins’ element. MAJ
Higgins and his troops controlled the bridge
while the quick reaction force under MAJ
Gilberto Perez cleared the east side of the river.
They captured 17 PDF members. The TF
Pacora River Bridge.