Special Operations.Com

Fort Rupert and Richmond Hill Prison

Grenada, October 1983

By Thomas B. Hunter

(Copyright Special Operations.Com 1998. Do not reprint without written permission.)

On October 19, 1983, Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and a number of his top aides were executed by the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA), on orders from a radical new political group known as the "Revolutionary Military Council." Intending to replace Bishop's Marxist government with an even more virulent Marxist regime, General Hudson Austin and his sixteen member RMC quickly moved to assume control of the island-nation. Fears of the possibility of a new Soviet ally so close to U.S. shores (a fear bolstered by the recent construction of a 10,000 foot runway capable of handling thelargest military transports), and the fact that hundreds of US citizens resided in Grenada and might possibly be in danger, caused President Reagan to act to prevent a potentially grave situation from developing. He authorized the US military to intervene effect a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) to rescue the American students and, in no small part, to restore a more mainstream government on Grenada.

Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion of Grenada by US military forces in October 1983, was highlighted by the involvement of special operations forces from all service branches. Included in the battle plan were US Navy SEALs and Special Boat Units, Marine reconnaissance and Force Recon, Air Force specical tactics teams (PJ and CCT) and AC-130 gunships, Army Rangers and Special Forces, and PSYOPS and Civil Affairs units. These groups made up a large part of the total force package, especially in the early stages of the invasion. Also included were elements of two recently formed, and highly secret counterterrorist units: SEAL Team Six and Delta Force. And while the actions of SEAL Team Six at the objectives have been well documented, this article will focus on the actions of Delta and Task Force 160 in two separate missions during the opening hours of Urgent Fury.

The two primary objectives were Fort Rupert and Richmond Hill prison. Fort Rupert, which intelligence reported was housing the core of senior advisors to General Austin, was collectively known as the Revolutionary Council. Richmond Hill prison which held scores of illegally imprisoned civil servants and other citizens arrested by the oppressive RMC regime. Ideally, of course, Delta would have preferred to conduct these operations at night, under cover of darkness. These conditions, too, were favored by the pilots and crew from the Army's elite, and also newly formed, 160th Special Operations Group, known also as Task Force 160, but better known as the "Night Stalkers". Flying MH-60 Black Hawks and AH/MH-6 "Little Birds", the 160th had been raised to provide the US SOF community with an all-weather, day/night helicopter capability. One primary 160th mission was the covert infiltration and exfiltration of SOF personnel into hostile locations. Such would be their tasking in Grenada. Upon receiving word of the pending actions in Grenada, the 160th dispatched a number of Black Hawks from Fort Campbell, Kentucky to a nearby island staging area on Barbados. The "Little Birds" were simultaneously transported by Air Force C-130 and C-5 cargo planes to the same secret location. It was here that they met up with the Delta troopers recently arrived from Fort Bragg.

The Richmond Hill prison was built on the site of an old fort, overlooking the town of St. George's. The prison, in turn, was overlooked by Fort Frederick, at the time a fully-manned garrison outpost used by the People's Revolutionary Army. Between the two locations was a small valley, and it was through this valley that the assault team would have to fly. Upon arrival at the prison, the helicopters would move to their predesignated location around the facility, slow quickly to a hover, then the teams would immediately fastrope to the ground and execute their assault.

The original plan called for a nine ship flight, ferring both Delta commandos and elements of Charlie Company, 1/75th Rangers, departing at approximately 0100 hours. Due to chaotic planning and last minute interservice bickering at serior levels, however, they would not leave until 0630, over five hours behind schedule. This meant that instead of racing in to the objective unseen, under cover of darkness, the airmobile assault would take place in the stark light of the rising sun. Any enemy defenders (already alerted due to a the fact that the conventional invasion had begun hours earlier) would have the advantage in defense. Still, had the pre-assault intelligence of lightly-armed prison guards at the objective been correct, this situation may not have been as disasterous as it would prove to be.

When the nine Black Hawks raced toward the prison, however, it was clear that intelligence had failed them. Two enemy gun emplacements, which intel had not predicted, were visible on a ridge approximately 150 feet higher than the prison - a perfect location to engage any forces trying to land nearby. At home flying at night, the darkly-painted helicopters stood out clearly in the morning sunlight. Enemy gunners were able to acquire the helicopters visually and took advantage of the opportunity. As the first flight or Delta Force commandos and Rangers approached, they were immediately taken under fire from the ZSU-23-2 (twin 23mm) guns at medium to close range. In the first volley of AAA gunfire, one Black Hawk was shot down as it raced along the coast. Due to the heavy volume of AAA being directed at them, it quickly became clear that this was virtually impossible without putting all involved at extreme, and unacceptable, risk. With close air support aircraft engaged at other locations across the island, elimination of the defenses was impossible - despite valiant attempts at providing suppressive fire by 160th Black Hawk pilots and crewmen. The stricken flight could do nothing but abort the assault and head back to base. This mission would be attempted once again shortly after, however it would prove equally unsuccessful.

At Fort Rupert, however, the situation was much different. Arriving by helicopter, Delta troopers assaulted the complex and rounded up their quarry quickly, without sustaining casualties. Their mission completed, the team called for extraction from the 160th who arrived and transported both the commandos and the detainees to the USS Guam offshore for questioning and formal processing by officials.

The experiences of Delta, Task Force 160, and SEAL Team Six during Operation Urgent Fury demonstrated clearly that no matter how well-trained or motivated a special operations unit is when thrust into a combat environment, poor intelligence, interservice rivalries (everyone wanting their slice of the operational pie) and poor planning at the command level can doom any operation from the outset. And while some missions may succeed on the sheer will and determination of the personnel on the ground, the responsibility for failures such as those experienced at Richmond Hill lies not in the hands of the shooters, but with those who send them into harm's way without the best intelligence, support, and mission focus possible.

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