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{{short description|1983 hostage rescue of American students in Grenada by the United States}}
{{redirect|Invasion of Grenada|the 1779 French invasion|Capture of Grenada (1779)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = United States invasion of Grenada
| partof            = the [[Cold War]]
| image             = [[File:CH-53D HMM-261 Grenada Okt1983.jpeg|border|340px]]
| caption           = An American [[Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion]] helicopter hovers above the ground near an abandoned Soviet [[ZU-23-2]] anti-aircraft weapon during the American invasion of Grenada, 1983.
| date              = 25 October – 2 November 1983 (8 days)<ref name=dtic>{{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/doctrine/history/urgfury.pdf |last=Cole |first=Ronald H. |year=1997 |title=Operation Urgent Fury: The Planning and Execution of Joint Operations in Grenada |archive-date=16 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116194741/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/doctrine/history/urgfury.pdf }}</ref>
| place             = [[Grenada]]
| result            = American–CPF victory
* [[People's Revolutionary Government (Grenada)|Grenadian People's Revolutionary Government]] toppled
* [[Hudson Austin]] deposed
* [[Nicholas Brathwaite]] sworn into office
* [[Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces|Cuban]] and [[Soviet forces]] expelled
| combatant1        = {{flag|United States}}<br/>
{{flagdeco|Grenada}} [[National Democratic Congress (Grenada)|Grenadian Opposition]]
{{Collapsible list
| title = [[Caribbean Peace Force]]:
| {{flag|Barbados}}
| {{flag|Jamaica}}
| [[Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]]
* {{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}
* {{flag|Dominica|1981}}
* {{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
* {{flag|Saint Lucia|1979}}
* {{flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|1979}}
}}
| combatant2        = {{flagdeco|Grenada}} [[People's Revolutionary Government (Grenada)|Grenada (PRG)]]<br/>{{flag|Cuba}}<br/>{{flag|Soviet Union}}
| commander1        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagicon|United States|1960}} '''[[Ronald Reagan]]'''
* {{flagicon|United States}} [[Caspar Weinberger]]
* {{flagicon|United States|1960}} [[Joseph Metcalf III]]
* {{flagicon|United States|1960}} [[Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.|Norman Schwarzkopf]]
* {{flagicon|United States|1960}} [[Edward Trobaugh]]
* {{flagicon|United States|1960}} [[Jack B. Farris]]
* {{flagicon|Grenada}} Sir [[Paul Scoon]]
* {{flagicon|Grenada}} [[Nicholas Brathwaite]]
* {{flagicon|Barbados}} [[Tom Adams (politician)|Tom Adams]]
* {{flagicon|Barbados}} Rudyard Lewis
* {{flagicon|Jamaica}} [[Florizel Glasspole]]
* {{flagicon|Jamaica}} [[Edward Seaga]]
* {{flagicon|Antigua and Barbuda}} [[Wilfred Jacobs]]
* {{flagicon|Antigua and Barbuda}} [[Vere Bird]]
* {{flagicon|Dominica|1981}} [[Aurelius Marie]]
* {{flagicon|Dominica|1981}} [[Eugenia Charles]]
* {{flagicon|Saint Kitts and Nevis}} [[Clement Arrindell]]
* {{flagicon|Saint Kitts and Nevis}} [[Kennedy Simmonds]]
* {{flagicon|Saint Lucia|1979}} [[Allen Montgomery Lewis]]
* {{flagicon|Saint Lucia|1979}} [[John Compton]]
* {{flagicon|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|1979}} Sir [[Sydney Gun-Munro]]
* {{flagicon|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|1979}} [[Milton Cato]]
}}
| commander2        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagicon|Grenada}} '''[[Hudson Austin]]'''{{Surrendered}}
* {{flagicon|Cuba}} [[Fidel Castro]]
* {{flagicon|Cuba}} Pedro Tortoló{{Surrendered}}
}}
| strength1         = {{flagicon|United States}} '''United States''':
*7,300 troops
* 4 tanks
* 1 LPH [[USS Guam (LPH-9)|USS ''Guam'']] Flagship ComPhibron 
* 1 LHA ({{USS|Saipan|LHA-2}})
* 1 aircraft carrier ([[USS Independence (CV-62)|USS ''Independence'']])
* 3 destroyers
* 2 frigates
* 1 ammunition ship
* 27 [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat|F-14A Tomcats]]
'''CPF''':
*353 peacekeepers
| strength2         = {{flagicon|Grenada}} '''Grenada''':
* 1,300 troops
* 8 APCs
* 2 armored cars
* 12 AA guns
{{flagicon|Cuba}} '''Cuba''': 784 (including 636 construction workers according to Cuba)<ref name=dtic/>{{rp|6, 26, 62}}
| casualties1       = {{flagicon|United States}} '''United States''':
*19 killed<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/30/world/medals-outnumber-gi-s-in-grenada-assault.html |work=The New York Times |title=Medals Outnumber G.I.'s in Grenada Assault |date=30 March 1984 |access-date=9 February 2017 |archive-date=13 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213084434/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/30/world/medals-outnumber-gi-s-in-grenada-assault.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
*116 wounded<ref name=dtic/>{{rp|6, 62}}
*36 injured:<ref name=Clodfelter/>
*9 helicopters destroyed<ref name=Clodfelter/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/04/06/study-faults-us-military-tactics-in-grenada-invasion/c0b97bcd-bc49-400c-90e2-485b08f7bcd8/ |title=Study Faults U.S. Military Tactics in Grenada Invasion |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702172220/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/04/06/study-faults-us-military-tactics-in-grenada-invasion/c0b97bcd-bc49-400c-90e2-485b08f7bcd8/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| casualties2       = {{flagicon|Grenada}} '''Grenada''':
*45 killed
*358 wounded<ref name=dtic/>{{rp|62}}
*6 APCs destroyed
*1 armored car destroyed
{{flagicon|Cuba}} '''Cuba''': 
*24 killed<ref name=Clodfelter>{{cite book |last=Clodfelter |first=Micheal |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 |edition=4th |year=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0786474707 |page=645}}</ref>
*59 wounded<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/reagan-grenada/ |title=The Invasion of Grenada |publisher=PBS.org |access-date=27 August 2017 |archive-date=20 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320053649/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/reagan-grenada/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
*638 captured<ref name=dtic/>
*2 transport aircraft captured
{{flagicon|Soviet Union}} '''Soviet Union''':
*2 wounded<ref>{{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=Lee |last2=Mendez |first2=Albert |title=Grenada 1983 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=London |year=2012 |page=45}}</ref>
*Weapons cache seized:
** 12 [[Armored personnel carrier|APCs]]
** 12 anti-aircraft guns
** 291 submachine guns
** 6,330 rifles
** 5.6 million rounds of ammunition<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cardcow.com/264783/soldiers-during-invasion-grenada-military/ |title=Soldiers During the Invasion of Grenada |publisher=CardCow Vintage Postcards |access-date=9 October 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208061139/https://www.cardcow.com/264783/soldiers-during-invasion-grenada-military/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| casualties3       = 24 civilians killed (18 of them when a [[1983 Grenada mental hospital bombing|mental hospital was mistakenly bombed]] by U.S. Navy A-7s)<ref name=Clodfelter/>
}}

The [[United States]] and a [[Caribbean Peace Force|coalition]] of six [[Caribbean]] countries invaded the small island nation of [[Grenada]], {{convert|100|mi}} north of [[Venezuela]], at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed '''Operation Urgent Fury''' by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation within a few days.<ref name="Kukielski_article">{{cite news |last=Kukielski |first=Phil |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/09/08/how-grenada-reshaped-military/IZDvWwlt9Ed1chAJufkrvJ/story.html |title=How Grenada reshaped the US military |date=8 September 2013 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref> It was triggered by strife within the [[People's Revolutionary Government (Grenada)|People's Revolutionary Government]], which led to the house arrest and execution of the previous leader and second [[List of heads of government of Grenada|Prime Minister]] of [[Grenada]], [[Maurice Bishop]], and to the establishment of the Revolutionary Military Council, with [[Hudson Austin]] as chairman. Following the invasion there was an interim government appointed, and then [[1984 Grenadian general election|general elections held in December 1984]].

The invading force consisted of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the [[US Army|U.S. Army]]'s [[75th Ranger Regiment]], the [[82nd Airborne Division]], and elements of the former [[Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force|Rapid Deployment Force]], [[U.S. Marines]], [[Delta Force|U.S. Army Delta Force]], [[Navy SEAL]]s, and a small group Air Force [[TACP]]s from the 21st [[USAF Tactical Air Support Squadron|TASS]] Shaw AFB ancillary forces, totaling 7,600 troops, together with [[Jamaica]]n forces and troops of the [[Regional Security System]] (RSS).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-3377.html |title=Caribbean Islands – A Regional Security System |publisher=country-data.com |archive-date=26 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426194002/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-3377.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The invaders quickly defeated Grenadian resistance after a low-altitude assault by the Rangers and 82nd Airborne at [[Maurice Bishop International Airport|Point Salines Airport]] on the island's south end, and a Marine helicopter and amphibious landing at [[Pearls Airport]] on the north end. Austin's military government was deposed. An advisory council designated [[Paul Scoon|Sir Paul Scoon]] as [[Governor-General of Grenada]] until the 1984 elections.

The invasion date of 25 October is now a national holiday in Grenada, called [[Thanksgiving Day#Grenada|Thanksgiving Day]], commemorating the freeing of several political prisoners who were subsequently elected to office. A [[History of Grenada#Truth and reconciliation commission|truth and reconciliation commission]] was launched in 2000 to re-examine some of the controversies of that tumultuous period in the 1980s; in particular, the commission made an unsuccessful attempt to locate the remains of Maurice Bishop's body, which had been disposed of at Austin's order and never found.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=Martine |last2=Muldoon |first2=Ted |last3=Svirnovskiy |first3=Rennie |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/12/08/grenada-maurice-bishop-missing-remains/ |title=U.S. may hold key to finding remains of Grenada's prime minister |date=8 December 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

At the time, the invasion drew criticism from many countries. British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] privately disapproved of the mission, in part because she was not consulted in advance and was given very short notice of the military operation, but she supported it in public.<ref>Moore, Charles (2016). ''Margaret Thatcher: At Her Zenith''. p. 130.</ref> The [[United Nations General Assembly]] condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law" on 2 November 1983, by a vote of 108 to 9.<ref name=UN_GA_Resolution_38_7>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/38/7 |title=United Nations General Assembly resolution 38/7 |publisher=United Nations |date=2 November 1983 |access-date=5 March 2016 |archive-date=19 December 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001219223600/http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/38/a38r007.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The invasion exposed communication and coordination problems between the different branches of the U.S. military when operating together as a joint force. This triggered post-action investigations resulting in sweeping operational changes in the form of the [[Goldwater-Nichols Act|Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kukielski |first=Philip |title=The U.S. Invasion of Grenada: Legacy of a Flawed Victory |pages=213–214 |publisher=McFarland & Company |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-47667-879-5 |oclc=1123182247}}</ref>

==Background==

{{see also|Grenada–Soviet Union relations}}

In 1974, [[Eric Gairy|Sir Eric Gairy]] led Grenada to independence from the [[United Kingdom]], but his term in office was marred by civil unrest. Although his [[Grenada United Labour Party]] claimed victory in the [[1976 Grenadian general election|general election of 1976]], the opposition did not accept the result as legitimate.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burrowes |first=Reynold A. |title=Revolution and Rescue in Grenada: An Account of the U.S.-Caribbean Invasion |year=1988 |publisher=Greenwood Press |pages=27–28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGsYAAAAYAAJ |isbn=978-0313260667 |oclc=17943224}}</ref> During his tenure, many Grenadians believed Gairy was personally responsible for the economic decline of the island and accused him of corruption.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Abdelfatah |last2=Rund |last3=Arablouei |first3=Ramtin |last4=Caine |first4=Julie |last5=Kaplan-Levenson |first5=Laine |last6=Wu |first6=Lawrence |last7=Yvellez |first7=Victor |last8=Charney |first8=Tamar |last9=Powers |first9=Martine |date=July 29, 2021 |title=Grenada: Nobody's Backyard |website=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1021236625/grenada-nobodys-backyard}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-19 |title=How the Invasion of Grenada Exposed the Brutality of the US Military |url=https://www.thecollector.com/us-invasion-of-grenada/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=TheCollector |language=en}}</ref> The civil unrest took the form of street violence between Gairy's private militia, the [[Mongoose Gang]], and a militia organized by the [[Communism|communist]] [[New Jewel Movement]] (NJM) party.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fletcher, Jr. |first=Bill |date=December 4, 2023 |website=The Real News Network |title=Remembering the Rise and Fall of Grenada's New Jewel Movement |url=https://therealnews.com/remembering-the-rise-and-fall-of-grenadas-new-jewel-movement}}</ref>

On 13 March 1979, while Gairy was temporarily out of the country, [[Maurice Bishop]] and his NJM seized power in a nearly bloodless [[Coup d'état|coup]].{{sfn|Kukielski|2019|pp=160-162}} He established the [[People's Revolutionary Government]], suspended the constitution, and detained several political prisoners.{{sfn|Kukielski|2019|pp=160-162}} Bishop was a forceful speaker who introduced Marxist ideology to Grenadians while also appealing to Black Americans during the 1970s heyday of the [[Black Panther Party|Black Panther]] movement. After seizing power, Bishop attempted to implement the first [[Marxist-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] nation in the British Commonwealth.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Grenada Revolution Documentary - Part 1 |url=https://vimeo.com/9958883 |access-date=2023-12-09 |language=en}}</ref> To lend itself an appearance of constitutional legitimacy, the new administration continued to recognize [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] as [[Monarchy of Grenada|Queen of Grenada]] and Sir Paul Scoon as her viceregal representative.<ref name=Murphy169>{{cite book|last=Murphy |first=Philip |title=Monarchy and the End of Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkYXAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22commonwealth+realm%22&pg=PA170 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2013 |page=169 |access-date=28 April 2023 |isbn=978-0-199-21423-5}}</ref>

===Airport===

The Bishop government began constructing the [[Maurice Bishop International Airport|Point Salines International Airport]] with the help of the United Kingdom, [[Cuba]], [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi#Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–2011)|Libya]], [[Algeria]], and other nations. The British government proposed the airport in 1954 when Grenada was still a British colony. [[Canada|Canadians]] designed it, the British government underwrote it, and a [[London]] firm built it. The U.S. government accused Grenada of constructing facilities to aid a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-Cuban military buildup in the Caribbean. The accusation was based on the fact that the new airport's {{convert|9000|ft|m|adj=on}} runway would be able to accommodate the largest Soviet aircraft, such as the [[An-12]], [[An-22]], and [[An-124]]. Such a facility, according to the U.S., 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 handle commercial aircraft carrying tourists, pointing out that such jets could not land at Pearls Airport with its {{convert|5200|ft|m|adj=on}} runway on the island's north end, and that Pearls could not be expanded because its runway abutted a mountain on one side and the ocean on the other.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/grenadarevolutio0000payn/page/31|title=Grenada : revolution and invasion|last=Payne, Anthony|year=1984|publisher=St. Martin's Press|others=Sutton, Paul K., Thorndike, Tony.|isbn=0-312-35042-2|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/grenadarevolutio0000payn/page/31 31]|oclc=10548141}}</ref>

[[File:Point Salinas International Airport, Grenada.jpg|thumb|Point Salines International Airport]]

In 1983, Representative [[Ron Dellums]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[California|CA]]) traveled to Grenada on a fact-finding mission, having been invited by Prime Minister Bishop. Dellums described his findings before [[United States Congress|Congress]]:

<blockquote>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.<ref name="commentary">{{cite magazine|title=Another 'Low Dishonest Decade' on the Left |date=1 January 1987 |magazine=[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]] |last1=Collier |first1=Peter |last2=Horowitz |first2=David |author-link1=Peter Collier (writer) |author-link2=David Horowitz |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1290125120 |volume=83 |issue=1 |page=17|id={{ProQuest|1290125120}} }}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1982-0610-101, Berlin, Besuch Regierungsdelegation Grenada, Bootsfahrt (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Maurice Bishop]] and Foreign Minister [[Unison Whiteman]] in East Germany, 1982]]

In March 1983, President Reagan began issuing warnings about the danger to the United States and Caribbean nations if the Soviet-Cuban militarization of that region was allowed to proceed. He pointed to the excessively long airport runway being built, and referenced intelligence reports showing increased Soviet interest in the island. He said the runway, along with the airport's numerous fuel storage tanks, were unnecessary for commercial flights and that the evidence suggested the airport would become a Cuban-Soviet forward military airbase.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/26/us/briefing-058430.html|title=Briefing|last1=Gailey|first1=Phil|last2=Weaver Jr.|first2=Warren|date=26 March 1983|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=13 August 2024}}</ref>

Meanwhile, an internal power struggle was brewing in Grenada over Bishop's leadership performance.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Seabury |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=McDougall |editor2-first=Walter A. |year=1984 |title=The Grenada Papers |url=https://archive.org/details/grenadapapers00ssou |location=San Francisco |oclc=11233840 |publisher=Institute for Contemporary Studies |isbn=0-917616-68-5 |url-access=registration}}</ref> In September 1983 at a [[Central Committee]] party meeting, he was pressured into sharing power with Deputy Prime Minister [[Bernard Coard]]. Bishop initially agreed to the joint leadership proposal, but later balked at the idea, which brought matters to a crisis.<ref name="Guardian_article"/>

===October 1983===

On the evening of 13 October 1983, the Coard faction of the Central Committee, in conjunction with the People’s Revolutionary Army, placed Prime Minister Bishop and several of his allies under house arrest. On 19 October, after Bishop's secret detention became widely known, he was freed by a large crowd of supporters, estimated between 15,000 and 30,000.<ref name="Amnesty_Intl_Article">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/amr320012003en.pdf |publisher=[[Amnesty International]]
|title=The Grenada 17: Last of the cold war prisoners? |date=October 2003}}</ref> He led the crowd to a relatively unguarded Fort Rupert which they soon occupied.<ref name="Guardian_article">{{cite news |last=Sunkara |first=Bhaskar |title=The US invaded the island of Grenada 40 years ago. The legacy of revolution lives on |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/25/the-us-invaded-the-island-of-grenada-40-years-ago-the-legacy-of-revolution-lives-on 
|date=25 October 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> At nearby Fort Frederick, Coard had gathered nine Central Committee members and sizable factions of the military.<ref name="Amnesty_Intl_Article"/> As one journalist writes, "What happened next, and on whose orders, is still a controversy."<ref name="Guardian_article"/> But a mass of troops in armored personnel carriers, under the supervision of Lt. Colonel Ewart Layne, departed Fort Frederick for Fort Rupert to, as Layne described it, "recapture the fort and restore order."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://grenadarevo.com/glossary/ewart-layne/ |date=8 October 2021 |title=Ewart Layne - Caribbean Glossary |website=Grenada Revo}}</ref> After surrendering to the superior force, Bishop and seven leaders loyal to him were lined up against a wall in Fort Rupert's courtyard and faced a firing squad.<ref name="Guardian_article"/><ref name="Amnesty_Intl_Article"/>

The army under [[Hudson Austin]] then stepped in and formed a military council to rule the country, and placed Sir Paul Scoon under house arrest in [[Government House]]. The army instituted a strict four-day curfew during which anyone seen on the streets would be shot on sight.{{sfn|Burrowes|1988|p=63}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Boulby |first=Luke |title="Forward ever, backward never": the tragedy of the Grenadian Revolution |url=https://www.marxist.com/forward-ever-backward-never-the-tragedy-of-the-grenadian-revolution.htm |date=30 March 2020 |publisher=In Defence of Marxism}}</ref>

Within only a few days of these events in Grenada, the [[Reagan administration]] mounted a U.S.-led [[military intervention]] following a formal appeal for help from the [[Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]], which had received a covert request for help from Paul Scoon (though he put off signing the official letter of invitation until 26 October).<ref>{{cite book |last=Scoon |first=Sir Paul |year=2003 |title= Survival for Service: My Experiences as Governor General of Grenada |location=Oxford |publisher=Macmillan Caribbean |isbn=0-333-97064-0 |oclc=54489557 |pages=136, 145}}</ref> Among the key invasion planners were [[Caspar Weinberger|Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger]] and his senior military assistant [[Colin Powell]].<ref name="Memphis_blog">{{cite web |url=https://blogs.memphis.edu/benhooksinstitute/2021/11/15/duty-before-race-the-life-of-colin-powell/ |last=Donaldson |first=Le’Trice |date=15 November 2021 |title='Duty Before Race': The Life of Colin Powell |publisher=The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis}}</ref> Regarding the speed with which the invasion commenced, it was said the U.S. had been conducting mock invasions of Grenada since 1981: "These exercises, part of Ocean Venture '81 and known as Operation Amber and the Amberdines, involved air and amphibious assaults on the [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican island of Vieques]]. According to the plans for these maneuvers, 'Amber' was considered a hypothetical island in the Eastern Caribbean which had engaged in anti-democratic revolutionary activities."<ref name="Amnesty_Intl_Article"/><ref name="Memphis_blog"/>

Reagan stated that he felt compelled to act due to "concerns over the 600 U.S. medical students on the island" and fears of a repeat of the [[Iran hostage crisis]], which ended less than three years earlier.<ref>{{cite web |last=Longley |first=Robert |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/grenada-invasion-4571025 |date=3 December 2018 |title=Grenada Invasion: History and Significance |publisher=ThoughtCo.}}</ref> Future [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Lawrence Eagleburger]], who was then serving as Reagan's [[Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs]], later admitted that the prime motivation for the intervention was to "get rid" of the coup leader Hudson Austin, and that the students were a pretext.<ref>{{cite book |last=Moore |first=Charles |author-link= Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham |date=2015 |title=Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography, Volume Two: Everything She Wants |language=en |publication-place=Great Britain |publisher=Allen Lane, [[Penguin Books]] |page=119 |chapter=Chapter 5: Reagan plays her false |isbn=978-0-713-99288-5 |oclc=922929186 |ol=27339067M |quote=On 20 October, the administration’s Crisis Preplanning Group met and discussed a rescue plan for the students, but also the possibility of overthrowing the hostile Grenadian regime. According to [[Lawrence Eagleburger]], the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs at the State Department, ‘The prime motivation was to get rid of that son of a bitch [General Austin] before the Cubans got any further embedded … The students were the pretext … but we would not have done it simply because of the students.’ |quote-pages=118–119}}</ref> Although the invasion occurred after the execution of Prime Minister Bishop, the remaining Grenadian ruling party members were still committed to Bishop's Marxist ideology. Reagan said he viewed these factors, alongside the party's growing connection to Fidel Castro, as a threat to democracy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=Patsy |date=1999 |title=Revisiting the Grenada Invasion: The Oecs' Role, and Its Impact on Regional and International Politics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27865150 |journal=Social and Economic Studies |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=85–120 |jstor=27865150 |issn=0037-7651}}</ref>

[[File:Eastern Caribbean Defense Force.jpg|thumb|left|Members of the Eastern Caribbean Defense Force]]

The [[Organization of Eastern Caribbean States]] (OECS), [[Barbados]], and Jamaica all appealed to the United States for assistance.<ref name="dtic" /> For safety reasons, Paul Scoon had requested the invasion through secret diplomatic channels,<ref name="z9f6WdltuE">{{YouTube|_z9f6WdltuE|Sir Paul Scoon, G-G of Grenada, at 2:36}}</ref> using the [[reserve power]]s vested in the [[The Crown|Crown]].<ref name="NYTObit">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/world/americas/paul-scoon-who-invited-grenada-invaders-dies-at-78.html|title=Paul Scoon, Who Invited Grenada Invaders, Dies at 78|last=Martin|first=Douglas|newspaper=The New York Times|date=9 September 2013|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402120057/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/world/americas/paul-scoon-who-invited-grenada-invaders-dies-at-78.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 22 October 1983, the Deputy High Commissioner in [[Bridgetown]], Barbados, visited Grenada and reported that Scoon was well and "did not request military intervention, either directly or indirectly".<ref>{{cite book |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |author-link=Margaret Thatcher |title=The Downing Street Years |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=London |year=1993 |page=841 |isbn=978-0-06017-056-1}}</ref> However, on the day after the invasion, [[Prime Minister of Dominica]] [[Eugenia Charles]] stated the request had come from Scoon, through the OECS, and,<ref name=Murphy169/> in his 2003 autobiography, ''Survival for Service'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2013/09/08/paul-scoon-who-had-key-role-invasion-grenada-dies/imPMQVhekcgrDRbqKryBLO/story.html|title=Paul Scoon; had key role in invasion of Grenada |website=BostonGlobe.com|access-date=27 September 2017|archive-date=27 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927202311/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2013/09/08/paul-scoon-who-had-key-role-invasion-grenada-dies/imPMQVhekcgrDRbqKryBLO/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYTObit"/> Scoon maintains he asked the visiting British diplomat to pass along "an oral request" for outside military intervention at this meeting.<ref name=Murphy169/>

On 25 October, the combined forces of the United States and the [[Regional Security System]] (RSS) based in Barbados invaded Grenada in an operation codenamed ''Operation Urgent Fury''. The United States insisted this was being done at the request of [[Prime Minister of Barbados|Barbados' Prime Minister]] [[Tom Adams (politician)|Tom Adams]] and Dominica's Prime Minister Eugenia Charles. The invasion was sharply criticized by the governments in Canada, [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and the United Kingdom. By a vote of 108 to 9, with 27 abstentions,<ref name="UN_Resolution_Vote">{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1309/is_v21/ai_3073305 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627152449/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1309/is_v21/ai_3073305 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 June 2007 |title=Assembly calls for cessation of 'armed intervention' in Grenada |work=UN Chronicle |year=1984}}</ref> the United Nations General Assembly condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law."<ref name=UN_GA_Resolution_38_7 />

==First day of the invasion==

[[File:Photograph of President Reagan meeting with Congress on the invasion of Grenada in the cabinet room - NARA - 198539.jpg|thumb|President Reagan meeting with Congress on the invasion of Grenada in the [[Cabinet Room (White House)|Cabinet Room]], 25 October 1983]]

[[H-hour]] for the invasion was set for 05:00 on 25 October 1983. U.S. troops deployed for Grenada by helicopter from [[Grantley Adams International Airport]] on Barbados before daybreak.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-airport boss recalls Cubana crash |last=Carter |first=Gercine |url=http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/ex-airport-boss-recalls-cubana-crash/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124195240/http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/ex-airport-boss-recalls-cubana-crash/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 January 2012 |newspaper=Nation Newspaper |date=26 September 2010 |access-date=16 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cozier |first=Tony |title=Barbados Prime Minister Dies Of Heart Attack |url=https://apnews.com/article/3b034d211eda361b69ed9086b50a6dca |publisher=Associated Press |date=12 March 1985 |access-date=7 February 2023}}</ref> Nearly simultaneously, American paratroopers arrived directly by transport aircraft from bases in the eastern United States, and U.S. Marines were airlifted to the island from [[USS Guam (LPH-9)|USS ''Guam'']] offshore. It was the largest American military action since the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=U.S. invasion of Grenada |encyclopedia=Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/U-S-invasion-of-Grenada}}</ref><ref name="Kukielski_article"/> Vice Admiral [[Joseph Metcalf III]], Commander of the Second Fleet, was the overall commander of American 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 American troops reached some 7,000 along with 300 troops from the [[Organization of American States]], commanded by Brigadier Rudyard Lewis of Barbados.

The main objectives on the first day were for the [[75th Ranger Regiment]] to capture [[Point Salines International Airport]] in order for the [[82nd Airborne Division]] to land reinforcements on the island; the [[2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment]] to capture [[Pearls Airport]]; and other forces to rescue the American students at the True Blue Campus of [[St. George's University]]. In addition, a number of special operations missions were undertaken by Army Delta Force operatives and Navy SEALs to obtain intelligence and secure key individuals and equipment. Many of these missions were plagued by inadequate intelligence and planning; the American troops used tourist maps with military grids superimposed on them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lacey |first=Sharon Tosi |date=2018-10-25 |title=How the invasion of Grenada was planned with a tourist map and a copy of 'The Economist' |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/military-history/2018/10/25/how-the-invasion-of-grenada-was-planned-with-a-tourist-map-and-a-copy-of-the-economist/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Military Times |language=en}}</ref>

===Defending forces===

====People's Revolutionary Army====

The invading forces encountered about 1,500 Grenadian soldiers of the [[People's Revolutionary Army (Grenada)|People's Revolutionary Army]] (PRA) manning defensive positions. The PRA troops were for the most part equipped with light weapons, mostly [[AKM|Kalashnikov-pattern]] automatic rifles of Soviet [[Eastern Bloc|bloc]] origin, and smaller numbers of obsolete [[SKS]] carbines and [[PPSh-41]] submachine guns.<ref name=AWG>{{cite book|last=Harding|first=Steve|title=Air War Grenada|year=1984|pages=8–9|publisher=Pictorial Histories Publishing Company|location=Missoula, Montana|isbn=9780933126527}}</ref> They had few heavy weapons and no modern air defense systems.<ref name=AWG/> The PRA was not regarded as a serious military threat by the U.S., which was more concerned by the possibility that Cuba would send a large expeditionary force to intervene on behalf of its erstwhile ally.<ref name=AWG/>

The PRA did possess eight [[BTR-60|BTR-60PB]] armored personnel carriers and two [[BRDM-2]] armored cars delivered as military aid from the Soviet Union in February 1981, but no tanks.<ref name="PH2004">{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Huchthausen|title=America's Splendid Little Wars: A Short History of U.S. Engagements from the Fall of Saigon to Baghdad|location=New York|publisher=Penguin|year=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780142004654/page/69 69]|isbn=978-0-142-00465-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780142004654/page/69}}</ref><ref name="Russell">''Grenada 1983'' by Lee E. Russell and M. Albert Mendez, 1985 Osprey Publishing Ltd., {{ISBN|0-85045-583-9}} pp. 28–48.</ref>

====Cuban forces in Grenada====

The Cuban military presence in Grenada was more complex than initially thought.{{sfn|Kukielski|2019|pp=147-148}}<ref name="Castro">{{cite book |first=Jorge |last=Dominguez |title=To Make a World Safe for Revolution: Cuba's Foreign Policy |pages=154–253 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn= 978-0674893252 |year=1989}}</ref> Most of the Cuban civilian expatriates present were also military reservists.<ref name="Castro" /> [[Fidel Castro]] described the Cuban construction crews in Grenada as "workers and soldiers at the same time", claiming the dual nature of their role was consistent with Cuba's "citizen soldier" tradition.<ref name="Castro" /> At the time of the invasion, there were an estimated 784 Cuban nationals on the island.{{sfn|Dominguez|1989|pp=168-169}} About 630 of the Cuban nationals listed their occupations as construction workers, another 64 as military personnel, and 18 as dependents.{{sfn|Dominguez|1989|pp=168-169}} The remainder were medical staff or teachers.{{sfn|Dominguez|1989|pp=168-169}}

Colonel Pedro Tortoló Comas was the highest-ranking Cuban military officer in Grenada in 1983, and he later stated that he issued small arms and ammunition to the construction workers for the purpose of self-defense during the invasion, which may have further blurred the line between their status as civilians and combatants.{{sfn|Dominguez|1989|pp=168-169}} They were also expressly forbidden to surrender to U.S. military forces if approached.{{sfn|Dominguez|1989|pp=168-169}} The regular Cuban military personnel on the island were serving as advisers to the PRA at the time.<ref name=AWG/> Cuban advisers and instructors deployed with overseas military missions were not confined to non-combat and technical support roles; if the units to which they were attached participated in an engagement, they were expected to fight alongside their foreign counterparts.<ref name="Gleijeses">{{Cite book |last=Gleijeses|first=Piero|title= Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington and Africa, 1959–1976 |location= Chapel Hill,&nbsp;NC |publisher= [[University of North Carolina Press]] |year= 2002 |isbn= 978-0-807-82647-8 |page=256}}</ref>

[[Bob Woodward]] wrote in ''Veil'' that captured "military advisors" from socialist countries, including Cuba, were actually accredited diplomats and their dependents. He claimed that none of them took any actual part in the fighting.<ref>{{cite book |author=Woodward, Bob |title=Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981–1987 |url=https://archive.org/details/veilsecretwars00wood |url-access=registration |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1987|isbn=9780671601171 }}</ref> The U.S. government asserted that most of the supposed Cuban civilian technicians on Grenada were in fact military personnel, including special forces and combat engineers.<ref>{{cite book |author=Leckie, Robert |title=The Wars of America |url=https://archive.org/details/warsofamerica00robe |url-access=registration |publisher=Castle Books |year=1998|isbn=9780785809142 }}</ref> A summary of the Cuban presence in ''The Engineer'', the official periodical of the [[United States Army Engineer School|U.S. Army Engineer School]], noted that "resistance from these well-armed military and paramilitary forces belied claims that they were simply construction crews."<ref name="Engineer">{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=A Caribbean Arms Cache |journal=[[Engineer (US magazine)|Engineer]] |volume=13|issue=4|page=31|publisher=United States Army Engineer School |location=Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri |date=December 1983}}</ref>

===Navy SEAL reconnaissance missions===

[[File:Grenada Invasion.jpg|thumb|Map of invasion plan]]

U.S. Special Operations Forces were deployed to Grenada beginning on 23 October, before the 25 October invasion. Navy SEALs from [[SEAL Team Six|SEAL Team 6]] and Air Force combat controllers were air-dropped at sea to perform a reconnaissance mission on Point Salines.<ref>{{cite web |author=Timeline – World History Documentaries |title=A Close Look At History's Great Military Blunders {{!}} Politics By Other Means |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIRDidFqOEo |date=22 April 2017 |access-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/jIRDidFqOEo |archive-date=28 November 2021 |via=YouTube}}</ref> The helicopter drop went wrong; four SEALs were lost at sea and their bodies never recovered, causing most people to suspect they had drowned.{{sfn|Kukielski|2019|p=146}} The four SEALs were Machinist Mate 1st Class Kenneth J. Butcher, Quartermaster 1st Class Kevin E. Lundberg, Hull Technician 1st Class Stephen L. Morris, and Senior Chief Engineman Robert R. Schamberger. In an interview conducted by Bill Salisbury and published on 4 October 1990, Kenneth Butcher's widow claimed that she had gone to Grenada hoping that her husband had survived. She said, "There was this fisherman who said he saw four guys in wetsuits come out of the water, and then two days later he saw four bodies being thrown into the water. So we would like to think they made it, 'cause there was a boat smashed up on the beach. We would like to think the four of them got in that boat, made it to shore, got someplace, and were captured. And they're, you know, gonna come back."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1990/oct/04/you-know-ken/|title=A Grenada SEAL widow tells her story|last=Salisbury|first=Bill|date=4 October 1990 |newspaper=San Diego Reader |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709073301/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1990/oct/04/you-know-ken/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The SEAL and Air Force survivors continued their mission, but their boats flooded while evading a patrol boat, causing the mission to be aborted. Another SEAL mission on 24 October was also unsuccessful, due to harsh weather, resulting in little intelligence being gathered in advance of the impending intervention.<ref name="Navy SEAL Museum">{{cite web|title=SEAL History: Navy SEALs in Grenada Operation Urgent Fury|url=https://www.navysealmuseum.org/about-navy-seals/seal-history-the-naval-special-warfare-story/seal-history-navy-seals-in-grenada|publisher=Navy SEAL Museum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316041137/https://www.navysealmuseum.org/about-navy-seals/seal-history-the-naval-special-warfare-story/seal-history-navy-seals-in-grenada|archive-date=16 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Air assault on Point Salines ===

[[File:US Army Rangers parachute into Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury.jpg|thumb|Rangers conducting the air assault on Point Salines]]

[[File:A Soviet-made 7.62mm PKM light machine gun and other weapons seized during Operation Urgent Fury DD-ST-86-03415.jpg|thumb|A Soviet-made 7.62mm [[PK machine gun|PKM]] [[light machine gun]] and other weapons seized during Operation Urgent Fury, {{ca|25 October 1983}}]]

Alpha and Bravo companies of the 1st Battalion of the [[75th Ranger Regiment]] embarked on [[C-130]]s at [[Hunter Army Airfield]] at midnight on 25 October to perform an air assault landing on Point Salines Airport, intending to land at the airport and then disembark. The Rangers had to switch abruptly to a parachute landing when they learned mid-flight that the runway was obstructed. The air drop began at 05:30 on 25 October in the face of moderate resistance from [[ZU-23]] anti-aircraft guns and several BTR-60 [[Armoured personnel carrier|armored personnel carriers]] (APCs), which were knocked out by [[M67 recoilless rifle]] fire. [[AC-130]] gunships provided support for the landing. Cuban construction vehicles were commandeered to help clear the airfield, and one even used to provide mobile cover for the Rangers as they moved to seize the heights surrounding the airfield.<ref name=Stuart>{{cite book|last1=Stuart|first1=Richard W.|title=Operation Urgent Fury: The Invasion of Grenada, October 1983|year=2008|publisher=U.S. Army|url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/grenada/urgent_fury.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924100641/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/grenada/urgent_fury.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Rangers cleared the airstrip of obstructions by 10:00, and transport planes were able to land and unload additional reinforcements, including [[M151]] Jeeps and members of the [[Caribbean Peace Force]] assigned to guard the perimeter and detainees. Starting at 14:00, units began landing at Point Salines from the [[82nd Airborne Division]] under [[Edward Trobaugh]], including battalions of the [[325th Infantry Regiment]]. At 15:30, three BTR-60s of the Grenadian Army Motorized Company counter-attacked, but the Americans repelled them with recoilless rifles and an AC-130.<ref name="SgtMacsBar_article">{{cite web |url=http://www.sgtmacsbar.com/Articles/UrgentFury/UrgentFury.html |title=Operation: Urgent Fury
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605204420/http://www.sgtmacsbar.com/Articles/UrgentFury/UrgentFury.html |archive-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=SgtMacsBar |access-date=17 September 2024}}</ref>

The Rangers fanned out and secured the surrounding area, negotiating the surrender of over 100 Cubans in an aviation hangar. However, a Jeep-mounted Ranger patrol became lost searching for [[Saint George's University|True Blue Campus]] and was ambushed, with four killed. The Rangers eventually secured True Blue campus and its students, where they found only 140 students and were told that more were at another campus in Grand Anse, northeast of True Blue. In all, the Rangers lost five men on the first day, but succeeded in securing Point Salines and the surrounding area.<ref name=Stuart />

===Capture of Pearls Airport===

A platoon of Navy SEALs from [[SEAL Team 4]] under Lieutenant Mike Walsh approached the beach near [[Pearls Airport]] around midnight on 25 October after evading patrol boats and overcoming stormy weather. They found that the beach was lightly defended but unsuitable for an amphibious landing. The [[2nd Battalion, 8th Marines|2nd Battalion]] of the [[8th Marine Regiment]] then landed south of Pearls Airport using [[Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight|CH-46 Sea Knight]] and [[CH-53 Sea Stallion]] helicopters at 05:30 on 25 October; they captured Pearls Airport, encountering only light resistance, including a [[DShK]] machine gun which a Marine [[AH-1 Cobra]] destroyed.<ref name=Kreisher>{{cite web|last1=Kreisher|first1=Otto|title=Operation Urgent Fury – Grenada|url=https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/operation-urgent-fury-grenada|publisher=Marine Corps Association & Foundation|date=October 2003|archive-date=19 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419110427/https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/operation-urgent-fury-grenada|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Raid on Radio Free Grenada===

[[UH-60 Blackhawk]] helicopters delivered [[SEAL Team Six|SEAL Team 6]] operators in the early morning of 25 October to Radio Free Grenada with the purpose of using the radio station for [[PsyOps|psychological operations]].<ref name="SgtMacsBar_article"/> They captured the station unopposed and destroyed the radio transmitter. However, they were attacked by Grenadian forces in cars and an armored personnel carrier (APC), which forced the lightly-armed SEALs to cut open a fence and retreat into the ocean while receiving fire from the APC. The SEALs then reportedly swam to [[USS Caron|USS ''Caron'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/caron--dd-970-.html|title=Caron (DD-970)|website=NHHC|access-date=26 December 2019}}</ref> More credible reports say that rather than swimming to ''Caron'', a highly unlikely event, they destroyed the station and fought their way to the water, where they hid from patrolling enemy forces. They swam toward the open sea, and were picked up several hours later after being spotted by a reconnaissance plane.<ref name="Navy SEAL Museum"/>

===Raids on Fort Rupert and Richmond Hill Prison===

On 25 October, [[Delta Force]] and C Company of the [[75th Ranger Regiment]] embarked in [[UH-60]] and [[MH-6 Little Bird]] helicopters of [[160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment|Task Force 160]] to capture Fort Rupert (now known as [[Fort George, Grenada|Fort George]]), where they believed the Revolutionary Council leaders lived, and [[Richmond Hill Prison]], where political prisoners were being held. The raid on Richmond Hill Prison lacked vital intelligence, leaving the attackers unaware of the presence of several anti-aircraft guns and steep hilly terrain that left no room for helicopter landings. Anti-aircraft fire wounded passengers and crew and forced one UH-60 helicopter to [[Emergency landing|crash land]], causing another helicopter to land next to it to protect the survivors. One pilot was killed, and the Delta Force operators had to be relieved by a Navy [[Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King|Sea King]] helicopter.{{sfn|Kukielski|2019|pp=66-68}} The raid on Fort Rupert, however, was successful in capturing several leaders of the People's Revolutionary Government.<ref name=CombatReform>{{cite web|title=Turning the Tide: Operation Urgent Fury|url=http://www.combatreform.org/grenada.htm|website=Combat Reform|archive-date=7 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407134552/http://www.combatreform.org/grenada.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Mission to rescue Governor-General Scoon===

[[File:AH-1S firing cannon Grenada 1983.JPEG|thumb|A U.S. Army AH-1S Cobra attack helicopter opens fire on an enemy position.]]

The last major special operation was a mission to rescue Governor-General Scoon from his mansion in [[Saint George, Grenada]]. The mission departed late at 05:30 on 25 October from Barbados, resulting in the Grenadian forces being already aware of the invasion and they guarded Scoon closely. The SEAL team entered the mansion without opposition, but [[BTR-60]] armored personnel carriers counter-attacked and trapped the SEALs and governor inside. [[Lockheed AC-130|AC-130]] gunships, [[LTV A-7 Corsair II|A-7 Corsair]] strike planes, and [[AH-1 Cobra]] attack helicopters were called in to support the besieged SEALs, but they remained trapped for the next 24 hours.

At 19:00 on 25 October, 250 marines from G Company of the [[2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment]] landed at Grand Mal Bay equipped with [[Assault Amphibious Vehicle|amphibious assault vehicles]] and four [[M60 tank| M60 Patton]] tanks; they relieved the Navy SEALs the following morning, allowing Governor Scoon, his wife, and nine aides to be safely evacuated at 10:00 that day. The Marine tank crews continued advancing in the face of sporadic resistance, knocking out a BRDM-2 armored car.<ref name="Russell" /> G Company subsequently defeated and overwhelmed the Grenadian defenders at Fort Frederick.<ref name="Kreisher" />

=== Airstrikes ===

Navy [[LTV A-7 Corsair II|A-7 Corsair]]s and Marine [[Bell AH-1 SuperCobra|AH-1 Cobra]] attack helicopters made airstrikes against Fort Rupert and Fort Frederick. An A-7 raid on Fort Frederick targeting anti-aircraft guns hit a nearby mental hospital, killing 18 civilians.<ref name="dtic" />{{rp|62}} Two Marine AH-1T Cobras and a UH-60 Blackhawk were shot down in a raid against Fort Frederick, resulting in five casualties.<ref name="Kreisher" />

==Second day of the invasion==
[[File:Op Urgent Fury Invasion Map.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Troop invasion areas]]

General Trobaugh of the 82nd Airborne Division had two goals on the second day: securing the perimeter around Point Salines Airport, and rescuing American students held in Grand Anse. The Army lacked undamaged helicopters after the losses on the first day and consequently had to delay the student rescue until they made contact with Marine forces.

===Morning ambushes===
[[File:M102 howitzers during Operation Urgent Fury.jpg|thumb|right|[[M102 howitzer|105mm howitzers]] of 1st Bn 320th FA, 82D Abn Div firing during battle]]

Early on the morning of 26 October, Cuban forces ambushed a patrol from the 2nd Battalion of the 325th Infantry Regiment near the village of [[Calliste]]. The American patrol suffered six wounded and two killed, including the commander of Company B, CPT Michael F. Ritz and squad leader SSG Gary L. Epps. Navy airstrikes and an artillery bombardment by [[M102 howitzer|105mm howitzers]] targeting the main Cuban encampment eventually led to their surrender at 08:30. American forces pushed on to the village of Frequente, where they discovered a Cuban weapons cache reportedly sufficient to equip six battalions. Cuban forces ambushed a reconnaissance platoon mounted on gun-jeeps, but the jeeps returned fire, and a nearby infantry unit added mortar fire; the Cubans suffered four casualties with no American losses. Cuban resistance largely ended after these engagements.<ref name="Stuart" />

===Rescue at Grand Anse===
[[File:CH46SeaKnight Grenada 1983.JPG|thumb|A Marine Corps [[Sea Knight]] helicopter sits on the beach after being disabled during the Grand Anse rescue on 26 October 1983.]]

On the afternoon of 26 October, Rangers of the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment mounted Marine [[CH-46 Sea Knight]] helicopters to launch an air assault on the Grand Anse campus. The campus police offered light resistance before fleeing, wounding one Ranger, and one of the helicopters crashed on approach after its blade hit a palm tree. The Rangers evacuated the 233 American students by [[CH-53 Sea Stallion]] helicopters, but the students informed them that there was a third campus with Americans at Prickly Bay.<ref name="Kreisher" /> A squad of 11 Rangers was accidentally left behind; they departed on a rubber raft which was picked up by {{USS|Caron}} at 23:00.<ref name="SgtMacsBar_article"/>

==Third day of the invasion and after==

By 27 October, organized resistance was rapidly diminishing, but the American forces did not yet realize this. The [[2nd Battalion, 8th Marines]] continued advancing along the coast and capturing additional towns, meeting little resistance, although one patrol did encounter a single [[BTR-60]] during the night, dispatching it with a [[M72 LAW]]. The 325th Infantry Regiment advanced toward the capital of Saint George, capturing Grand Anse and discovering 200 American students whom they had missed the first day. They continued to the town of [[Ruth Howard]] and Saint George, meeting only scattered resistance. An air-naval gunfire liaison team called in an [[LTV A-7 Corsair II|A-7]] airstrike and accidentally hit the command post of the 2nd Brigade, wounding 17 troops, one of whom died.<ref name="Stuart" />

[[File:Grenada barracks before and after attack 1983.jpg|thumb|Calivigny barracks before and after being bombed]]

The Army had reports that PRA forces were amassing at the Calivigny Barracks, only five kilometers from the Point Salines airfield. They organized an air assault by the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment preceded by a preparatory bombardment by field howitzers (which mostly missed, their shells falling into the ocean), A-7s, [[AC-130]]s, and USS ''Caron''. However, the [[UH-60 Blackhawk|Blackhawk]] helicopters began dropping off troops near the barracks but they approached too fast. One of them crash landed and the two behind it collided with it, killing three and wounding four. The barracks were deserted.<ref name="SgtMacsBar_article"/>

In the following days, resistance ended entirely and the Army and Marines spread across the island, arresting PRA officials, seizing caches of weapons, and seeing to the repatriation of Cuban engineers. On 1 November, two companies from the 2/8 Marines made a combined sea and helicopter landing on the island of [[Carriacou]] {{convert|17|mi}} northeast of Grenada. The 19 Grenadian soldiers defending the island surrendered without a fight. This was the last military action of the campaign.<ref name=Kreisher/>

==Outcome==

It was confirmed Scoon had been in contact with [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] ahead of the invasion; however, the Queen's office denied knowledge of any request for military action and the Queen was "extremely upset" by the invasion of one of her realms. The only document signed by the Governor-General and asking for military assistance was dated after the invasion, which fueled speculation that the United States had used Scoon as an excuse for its incursion into Grenada.<ref name=Murphy169/>

Official U.S. sources state that some of the opponents were well-prepared and well-positioned and put up stubborn resistance, to the extent that the Americans called in two battalions of reinforcements on the evening of 26 October. The total naval and air superiority of the American forces had overwhelmed the defenders. Nearly 8,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines had participated in Operation Urgent Fury, along with 353 Caribbean allies from the Caribbean Peace Forces. American forces sustained 19 killed and 116 wounded; Cuban forces sustained 25 killed, 59 wounded, and 638 combatants captured. Grenadian forces suffered 45 killed and 358 wounded; at least 24 civilians were also killed, 18 of whom died in the accidental bombing of a Grenadian mental hospital.<ref name=dtic/>{{rp|62}} The U.S. troops also destroyed a significant amount of Grenada's military hardware, including six [[BTR-60]] APCs and a [[BRDM-2]] armored car.<ref name="Russell"/> A second [[BRDM-2]] armored car was impounded and shipped back to [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]] for inspection.<ref name="BRDM">{{Cite news |newspaper=Fortitudine |volume=15 |number=4 |page=21 |first=Anthony |last=Wayne Tommell |title=Soviet Vehicle in Collection Thanks to 2d AAV Bn |url=https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/Fortitudine%20Vol%2015%20No%204.pdf#page=21 |access-date=25 March 2023 |year=1986}}</ref>

==Legality of the invasion==

The U.S. government defended its invasion of Grenada as an action to protect American citizens living on the island, including medical students, and asserted it had been carried out at the request of the Governor-General.<ref name=Murphy169/> Deputy Secretary of State [[Kenneth W. Dam]] said that action was necessary to "resolve" what Article 28 of the charter of the [[Organization of American States]] (O.A.S.) refers to as "a situation that might endanger the peace". He added that the OAS charter and the UN charter both "recognize the competence of regional security bodies in ensuring regional peace and stability",<ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Hedrick|date=1983-11-15|title=U.S. Defending Grenada Action Before O.A.S.|language=en-US|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/15/world/us-defending-grenada-action-before-oas.html|access-date=2023-02-07|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> referring to the decision by the [[Organization of Eastern Caribbean States|Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]] to approve the invasion.

The [[Charter of the United Nations|UN Charter]] prohibits the use of force by member states except in cases of self-defense or when specifically authorized by the [[UN Security Council]]. The UN Security Council had not authorized this invasion.<ref>{{Cite journal
| author1-first= John M. 
| author1-last=Karas 
| author2-first= Jerald M.
| author2-last= Goodman
| title= The United States Action in Grenada: An Exercise in Realpolitik
| volume = 16 | number= 1
| journal= University of Miami Inter-American Law Review | year = 1984
| pages = 53–108
| url = https://repository.law.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1712&context=umialr
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia
| encyclopedia=Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law
|title=Grenada|url=https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e1292|access-date=2023-02-07|via=Oxford Public International Law|year=2008 |language=en|doi=10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/e1292 |last1=Robert J. |first1=Beck 
| publisher= Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International 
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181002020105/http://opil.ouplaw.com/view/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e1292
| archive-date= 2 October 2018
|isbn=978-0-199-23169-0
 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 423822|title = The Invasion of Grenada, 1983 and the Collapse of Legal Norms|journal = Journal of Peace Research|volume = 23|issue = 3|pages = 229–246|last1 = Waters|first1 = Maurice|year = 1986|doi = 10.1177/002234338602300303|s2cid = 143082909}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Chayes|first=Abram|date=1983-11-15|title=Grenada Was Illegally Invaded|language=en-US|work=The New York Times
| author-link= Abram Chayes
| series= Opinion
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/15/opinion/1-grenada-was-illegally-invaded.html|access-date=2023-02-07|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Similarly, the United Nations General Assembly adopted General Assembly Resolution 38/7 by a vote of 108 to 9 with 27 abstentions, which "deeply deplores the armed intervention in Grenada, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law".<ref name=UN_GA_Resolution_38_7 /> A similar resolution in the United Nations Security Council received widespread support but was vetoed by the United States.<ref name=Zunes>{{Cite journal |last=Zunes |first=Stephen |title=The U.S. Invasion of Grenada: A Twenty Year Retrospective |publisher=Foreign Policy in Focus |date=October 2003 |url=https://archive.globalpolicy.org/empire/history/2003/10grenada.htm |journal=Global Policy Forum |access-date=12 July 2008 |archive-date=13 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080713045533/http://www.globalpolicy.org///empire/history/2003/10grenada.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="un veto">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/scact_veto_en.shtml |title=United Nations Security Council vetoes |publisher=United Nations |date=28 October 1983|archive-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628020710/http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/scact_veto_en.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Reaction in the United States==

[[File:Citizens of Grenada-US leaflet.jpg|thumb|Leaflet distributed during the invasion by 9th PSYOP Bn]]

''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine described the invasion as having "broad popular support". A congressional study group concluded that the invasion had been justified, as most members felt that American students at the university near a contested runway could have been taken hostage as American diplomats in Iran had been four years previously. The group's report caused [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]] [[Tip O'Neill]] to change his position on the issue from opposition to support.<ref name="Magnuson">{{cite news|last=Magnuson|first=Ed|date=21 November 1983|title=Getting Back to Normal|magazine=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926318-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214134050/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926318-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 February 2008}}</ref>

However, some members of the study group dissented from its findings. Congressman [[Louis Stokes]] (D-[[Ohio|OH]]) 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 introduced an unsuccessful resolution to impeach President Reagan, led by [[Ted Weiss]] (D-[[New York (state)|NY]]).<ref name=Magnuson/>

[[File:Urgent fury civilians waiting.jpg|thumb|American students waiting to be evacuated from Grenada]]

Medical students in Grenada, speaking to [[Ted Koppel]] on the 25 October 1983 edition of his newscast ''[[Nightline]]'', stated that they were safe and did not feel their lives were in peril.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/broadcasts/656934|title=Nightline #656934 - ABC Special for Tuesday, Oct 25, 1983|access-date=19 October 2021|publisher=Vanderbilt Television News Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Corry |first=John |date=27 October 1983 |title=TV: Reports and Debates on Crises |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/27/arts/tv-reports-and-debates-on-crises.html |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The next evening, medical students told Koppel how grateful they were for the Army Rangers and the invasion which probably saved their lives. [[United States Department of State|State Department]] officials had assured the students they would be able to complete their medical school education in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/broadcasts/656937|title=Nightline #656937 - ABC Special for Wednesday, Oct 26, 1983 |access-date=19 October 2021 |publisher=Vanderbilt Television News Archive}}</ref>

An anti-war march attended by over 50,000 people, including [[Burlington, Vermont]] Mayor [[Bernie Sanders]], was held in [[Washington, D.C.]] The march received support from presidential candidate [[Jesse Jackson]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 November 1983 |title=Vermonters at Washington March |page=20 |work=[[Rutland Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64817447/rutland-daily-herald/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201207184440/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64817447/rutland-daily-herald/ |archive-date=7 December 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

==International reaction==

The [[United Nations General Assembly]] adopted General Assembly Resolution 38/7 on 2 November 1983 by a vote of 108 to 9 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".<ref name=UN_GA_Resolution_38_7 /> It went on to deplore "the death of innocent civilians" and the "killing of the Prime Minister and other prominent Grenadians", and it called for an "immediate cessation of the armed intervention" and demanded, "that free elections be organized".

This was the first overthrow of a Communist government by armed means since the end of [[World War II]]. The Soviet Union said that Grenada had been the object of United States threats, that the invasion violated international law, and that no small nation would find itself safe if the aggression were 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 had violated several treaties and conventions to which it was a party.<ref>''United Nations Yearbook'', Volume 37, 1983, Department of Public Information, United Nations, New York</ref> A similar resolution was discussed in the United Nations Security Council but it was ultimately vetoed by the United States.<ref name=Zunes/><ref name=Spartacus>{{cite web |url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDgrenada.htm |title=Grenada |publisher=Spartacus Educational |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629064517/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDgrenada.htm |archive-date=29 June 2008}}</ref><ref name="un veto"/>

President [[Ronald Reagan]] was asked if he was concerned by the lopsided 108–9 vote in the UN General Assembly. He said, "it didn't upset my breakfast at all".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/04/world/it-was-a-rescue-mission-reagan-says.html |title=It Was a Rescue Mission, Reagan Says |last=Clines |first=Francis X. |newspaper=The New York Times |date=4 November 1983 |access-date=17 September 2024}}</ref>

Grenada is part of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and the intervention was opposed by several Commonwealth members including the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada.<ref name=dtic/>{{rp|50}} British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a close ally of Reagan on other matters, personally opposed it. Reagan had forewarned her it might happen; she did not know for sure that it was coming until three hours before. Although she publicly supported the action, she sent the following message to Reagan at 12:30 on the morning of the invasion:

{{blockquote|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 missile]]s 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/109427|title=Grenada: Thatcher letter to Reagan ("deeply disturbed" at U.S. plans) [memoirs extract] |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |date=25 October 1983}}</ref>{{sfn|Thatcher|1993|p=331}} (the full text remains classified).}}

Her complaints were not heeded, and the invasion continued as planned. While the fighting was still going on, Reagan phoned Thatcher to apologize for any miscommunication between them,<ref>{{cite news|first=Mark|last=Tran|title=Reagan apologised to angry Thatcher over Grenada, tapes reveal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/10/reagan-apologise-angry-thatcher-grenada-white-house-tapes|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2014-11-10|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112033711/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/10/reagan-apologise-angry-thatcher-grenada-white-house-tapes|url-status=live}}</ref> and their long-term friendly relationship endured.<ref>{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=John |title=Margaret Thatcher, Volume Two: The Iron Lady |year=2003 |pages=273–279}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Williams |first=Gary |title='A Matter of Regret': Britain, the 1983 Grenada Crisis, and the Special Relationship |journal=Twentieth Century British History |date=1 January 2001 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=208–230|doi=10.1093/tcbh/12.2.208}}</ref>

==Aftermath and legacy==

{{see also|Grenada#Since 1983|l1=Grenada since 1983}}

The American and Caribbean governments quickly reaffirmed Governor-General Sir Paul Scoon as Queen [[Elizabeth II]]'s sole legitimate representative in Grenada, and hence the only lawful authority on the island. In accordance with Commonwealth constitutional practice, Scoon assumed power as interim head of government and formed an advisory council which named [[Nicholas Brathwaite]] as chairman, pending new elections.<ref name=z9f6WdltuE/><ref name=NYTObit/> The [[New National Party (Grenada)|New National Party]] won [[1984 Grenadian general election|the elections in December 1984]] and formed a government led by Prime Minister [[Herbert Blaize]].

American forces remained in Grenada after combat operations finished in December as part of Operation Island Breeze. The remaining forces performed security missions and assisted members of the Caribbean Peacekeeping Force and the Royal Grenadian Police Force, including military police, special forces, and a specialized intelligence detachment.<!--<ref name=Sundin/> -->

In 1986, seventeen political, military and civilian figures were convicted of crimes associated with the 19 October 1983 executions of Prime Minister Bishop and his supporters. The convicted group became known as the [[Grenada 17]]. In light of their lengthy imprisonment, [[Amnesty International]] referred to them as "the last of the Cold War prisoners".<ref name="Amnesty_Intl_Article"/>

===United States===

The invasion showed problems with the American "information apparatus", which ''Time'' magazine described as still being in "some disarray" three weeks after the invasion.<!--<ref name=Magnuson/> --> For example, the State Department falsely claimed that a mass grave had been discovered which held 100 bodies of islanders who had been killed by communist forces.<ref name=Magnuson/> 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 count of 59 Cuban and Grenadian deaths.<ref name=Magnuson/> Ronald H. Cole's report for the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] showed an even lower count.<ref name=dtic/>

Also of concern were the problems that the invasion exposed in military planning and operations. There was a lack of intelligence about Grenada which exacerbated the difficulties faced by the quickly assembled invasion force.<!--<ref name=Magnuson/> --> For example, they did not know that the students were actually at two different campuses, and there was a 30-hour delay in reaching students at the second campus.<ref name=Magnuson/> Maps provided to soldiers on the ground (to report locations of units and request artillery and aircraft fire support) were tourist maps on which [[Military Grid Reference System|military grid reference lines]] were drawn by hand. These maps did not show topography and were not marked with crucial positions. Communications between services were not compatible and hindered the coordination of operations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Operation Urgent Fury and Its Critics |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/Directors-Select-Articles/Operation-Urgent-Fury/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=www.armyupress.army.mil}}</ref> Maps given to some members of the invasion force had their landing strips drawn by hand.{{sfn|Kukielski|2019|p=46}}

Reagan attempted to use the invasion of Grenada to end [[Vietnam Syndrome]], a term used in reference to the American public's aversion to overseas conflicts that resulted from the Vietnam War.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Sandler | first1=Norman D. | title=Reagan's view of Vietnam War unwavering | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/28/Reagans-view-of-Vietnam-War-unwavering/1916454564800/ | date=28 May 1984 | work=[[United Press International]] | quote=Reagan, who blamed Congress for the outcome in Vietnam and in 1978 called the conflict 'a long, bloody war which our government refused to win,' contends his arms buildup, invasion of Grenada, and dispatch of U.S. forces to world trouble spots signaled the end of 'the Vietnam Syndrome.' | archive-date=2 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802001133/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/28/Reagans-view-of-Vietnam-War-unwavering/1916454564800/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Beinart | first1=Peter | title=Think Again: Ronald Reagan | url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/06/07/think-again-ronald-reagan/ | date=7 June 2010 | work=[[Foreign Policy]] | quote=His biographer Lou Cannon calls him 'shameless' in using Grenada to revive America's Vietnam-wounded pride. | archive-date=30 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330224559/https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/06/07/think-again-ronald-reagan/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Chen | first1=Edwin | last2=Richter | first2=Paul | title=U.S. Shakes Off Torment of Vietnam | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-02-mn-1736-story.html | date=2 March 1991 | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | access-date=22 January 2020 | quote=The Reagan Administration sought to shake off the Vietnam syndrome as it invaded Grenada in 1983 and bombed Libya in 1986. | archive-date=1 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801233809/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-02-mn-1736-story.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kinzer |first=Stephen |title=30 years on: The legacy of Reagan's invasion of Grenada |date=25 October 2013 |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/25/invasion-grenadaronaldreagan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030105627/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/25/invasion-grenadaronaldreagan.html |archive-date=30 October 2013 |website=Al Jazeera America}}</ref> After the invasion, on 13 December 1983, Reagan asserted that "our days of weakness are over. Our military forces are back on their feet and standing tall."<ref>{{cite web | last1=Clines | first1=Francis X. | title=Military of U.S. 'Standing Tall,' Reagan Asserts | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/13/nyregion/military-of-us-standing-tall-reagan-asserts.html | date=13 December 1983 | work=[[The New York Times]] | archive-date=29 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329072020/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/13/nyregion/military-of-us-standing-tall-reagan-asserts.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Goldwater–Nichols Act===

{{Main|Goldwater–Nichols Act}}

The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] recognized a need for improved communications and coordination among the branches of the U.S. military. Congress investigated many of the problems and passed the [[Goldwater-Nichols Act]] of 1986 (Pub. L.99–433).{{sfn|Kukielski|2019|pp=213-214}} This act reworked the command structure of the military, making the most sweeping changes to the Department of Defense since the department was established in the [[National Security Act of 1947]]. It increased the power of the [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] and advanced the concept of unified joint forces organized under one command.

===Other===

[[File:GrenadaMemorial.jpg|right|thumb|SGU Campus Memorial]]

25 October is a national holiday in Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day, to commemorate the invasion. [[St. George's University]] (SGU) built a monument on its True Blue campus to honor the American servicemen killed during the invasion, and marks the day with an annual memorial ceremony. {{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

After the Grenada invasion, Cuba became increasingly concerned the U.S. might also invade socialist [[Nicaragua]] where Cuba had supplied primary school teachers to help the country establish rural schools.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Gleijeses |first=Piero |title=Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976 - 1991 |date=2013 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |isbn=978-1-46962-832-5 |series=The New Cold War History series |location=Chapel Hill |pages= |author-link=Piero Gleijeses}}</ref> As a consequence of the invasion, Cuba removed its female primary school teachers from Nicaragua.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=321}}

[[File:Derelict Cuban airplane at Grenada's Pearls Airport.jpg|thumb|Derelict Cuban [[Antonov An-26]] airliner at Pearls Airport in 2007]]

On 29 May 2009, the Grenadian government changed the name of Point Salines International Airport to [[Maurice Bishop International Airport]].<ref name="airport_rename1">
{{cite web
 | title= Grenada's airport to be renamed
 | date= 26 May 2009
 | website= Travel Weekly
 | url= https://www.travelweekly.com/Caribbean-Travel/Grenada-s-airport-to-be-renamed
}}
</ref><ref name="airport_rename2">
{{cite web
 | title= Bishop's Honour: Grenada airport renamed after ex-PM
 | date= 30 May 2009
 | publisher= [[Caribbean News Agency]] (CANA)
 | url= http://www.cananews.net/news/131/ARTICLE/38264/2009-05-30.html
 | url-status= dead
 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090612200521/http://www.cananews.net/news/131/ARTICLE/38264/2009-05-30.html
 | archive-date= 12 June 2009}}
</ref> Hundreds of Grenadians turned out for the occasion to honor Bishop's memory. Prime Minister [[Tillman Thomas]] gave the keynote speech and referred to the airport renaming as an act of the Grenadian people coming home to themselves.<ref name="Grenadian_Connection">{{Cite web |url=http://www.grenadianconnection.com/Grenada/ViewNews.asp?NID=6835&CID=15008&TC=701&EP=381&yr=2009&Cat=0000 |title=Prime Minister Speech at Airport Renaming Ceremony |date=30 May 2009 |website=Grenadian Connection |access-date=21 November 2016 |archive-date=21 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121233157/http://www.grenadianconnection.com/Grenada/ViewNews.asp?NID=6835&CID=15008&TC=701&EP=381&yr=2009&Cat=0000 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also hoped it would bring closure to a chapter of denial in Grenada's history.

==Order of battle==

{{See also|Caribbean Peace Force}}

[[File:USPlanGrenadaUrgentFury.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Operation Urgent Fury]]

Vice Admiral [[Joseph Metcalf, III]], COMSECONDFLT, became Commander of Joint Task Force 120 (CJTF 120) and commanded units from the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard from the MARG flagship [[USS Guam (LPH-9)|USS ''Guam'']]. Rear Admiral Richard C. Berry (COMCRUDESGRU Eight) (Commander Task Group 20) supported the task force on the aircraft carrier [[USS Independence (CV-62)|USS ''Independence'']]. Commanding Officer USS Guam (Task Force 124) was assigned the mission of seizing Pearls Airport and the port of Grenville, and of neutralizing any opposing forces in the area.<ref name="Spector">{{cite web |url=http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/U.S.%20Marines%20in%20Grenada%201983%20%20PCN%2019000309700.pdf |last=Spector |first=Ronald |author-link=Ronald H. Spector |title=U.S. Marines in Grenada 1983 |year=1987 |page=6 |access-date=6 April 2013 |archive-date=4 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704130037/http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/U.S.%20Marines%20in%20Grenada%201983%20%20PCN%2019000309700.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Simultaneously, Army Rangers in Task Force 123 would secure points at the southern end of the island, including the airfield under construction near Point Salines. The 82d Airborne Division (Task Force 121) were designated to follow and assume the security at Point Salines once it was seized by Task Force 123. Task Group 20.5, a carrier battle group built around USS ''Independence'', and Air Force elements would support the ground forces.<ref name=Spector />

===Ground forces===

[[File:BRDM-2 during Operation Urgent Fury.JPEG|thumb|U.S. Marines sit atop a captured Grenadian BRDM-2 during the invasion]]

* [[1st Ranger Battalion (United States)|1st]] and [[2nd Ranger Battalion (United States)|2nd Ranger Battalions]] [[75th Ranger Regiment (United States)|75th Ranger Regiment]] conducted a low-level parachute assault to secure Point Salines Airport. Hunter Army Airfield, GA and Ft. Lewis, WA.

* [[82nd Airborne Division (United States)|82nd Airborne Division]] – 2nd Brigade Task Force ([[325th Infantry Regiment (United States)|325th Airborne Infantry Regiment]] 2nd & 3rd Battalions plus supporting units) and 3rd Brigade Task Force (1st and 2nd Battalions of the [[505th Infantry Regiment (United States)|505th Parachute Infantry Regiment]], 1st and 2nd Battalions of the [[508th Infantry Regiment (United States)|508th Parachute Infantry Regiment]], plus supporting units), A Company, 2nd Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd MP General Support Platoon HHC, 313th MI BN (CEWI). Fort Bragg, NC, 1st Battalion of the 319th Field Artillery. 1st Battalion of the 320th Field Artillery.
* [[22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit|22nd Marine Amphibious Unit]] Camp Lejeune, NC
* [[27th Engineer Battalion (United States)|27th Engineer Battalion]] of the [[20th Engineer Brigade (United States)|20th Engineer Brigade]] (Airborne), Fort Bragg, NC
* 548th Engineer Battalion Ft Bragg, NC
* [[160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)|160th Aviation Battalion]] Ft Campbell, KY
* [[18th Aviation Brigade (United States)|18th Aviation Company, 269th Aviation Battalion]] Ft. Bragg, NC
* 1st and 2nd [[82nd Aviation Regiment (United States)|82nd Combat Aviation Battalion]], Fort Bragg NC
* 1 SQN 17 Air Cavalry Airborne, Fort Bragg NC
* 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
* 411th MP Company of the [[89th Military Police Brigade (United States)|89th Military Police Brigade]], III Corps, Ft. Hood, Texas
* [[35th Signal Brigade]], Ft. Bragg, NC
* 50th Signal Battalion, [[35th Signal Brigade]], Ft. Bragg, NC
* [[203rd Military Intelligence Battalion]], [[Aberdeen Proving Ground|Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD]]
*[[319th Military Intelligence Battalion (United States)|319th Military Intelligence Battalion]] and [[519th Military Intelligence Battalion (United States)|519th Military Intelligence Battalion]], [[525th Military Intelligence Brigade]], Fort Bragg, NC
* 1st Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne) of the [[4th Psychological Operations Group]] (Airborne) – provided tactical loudspeaker support, radio station broadcasts, and dissemination of informational pamphlets. Fort Bragg, NC.
* [[1st Sustainment Command (Theater)|1st Corps Support Command COSCOM]], [[7th Transportation Battalion (United States)|7th Trans Battalion]], 546th LMT Fort Bragg, NC
* [[44th Medical Brigade]] – Personnel from the 44th Medical Brigade and operational units including the 5th MASH were deployed. Fort Bragg, NC.
* 82nd Finance Company MPT
* [[United States Navy SEALs|US Navy SEAL Team 4]] Little Creek, VA and [[United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group|US Navy SEAL Team 6]] Virginia Beach, VA
* Air Force Detachment 1, 507th Tactical Air Control Wing (Fort Bragg, NC) – jump qualified [[Tactical Air Control Party|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]])
* [[21st Tactical Air Support Squadron]] (Shaw AFB, SC). Jump qualified [[Forward Air Control|FACs]] who were attached to and deployed with Detachment 1, 507th Tactical Air Control Wing and the 82d Airborne, Fort Bragg, NC.
* 5th Weather Squadron, 5th Weather Wing (MAC) Fort Bragg, NC. Jump qualified combat weathermen who are attached and deployed with the 82nd, now in [[Air Force Special Operations Command|AFSOC]].
* [[24th Special Tactics Squadron|Det 1 MACOS]] [[Combat Controllers]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Naylor|first1=Sean|title=Relentless Strike, the Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command|year=2015|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-250-01454-2}}</ref>
* [[Delta Force|1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta]]

===Air Force===

[[File:General Thomas M. Ryan Jr. Flying a Lockheed C-130 Hercules.jpg|thumb|Commander-in-Chief of The [[Military Airlift Command]] General [[Thomas M. Ryan Jr.]], piloting a U.S. Air Force [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] aircraft en route from [[Barbados]] to [[Grenada]], November 1983]]

* [[136th Airlift Wing|136th Tactical Airlift Wing]], [[Texas Air National Guard]] – provided [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130 Hercules]] combat airlift support, cargo, and supplies
* Various [[Air National Guard]] tactical fighter wings and squadrons – provided [[LTV A-7 Corsair II#United States Air Force A-7D|A-7D Corsair II]] [[ground-attack aircraft]] for [[close air support]]
* [[23rd Wing|23rd Tactical Fighter Wing]] – provided close air support for allied forces with [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II|A-10 Warthog]]s. This group was later reassigned as 21st Tactical Air Wing, and officially then recognized support from the Pararescue personnel in their ranks, present also; but not officially recognized in their contributions in this theatre. They too, were subsequently redesignated as “Para-Jumpers” or PJs in later years and remain so to this day.
* 26th Air Defense Squadron NORAD – provided air support for allied forces with [[McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle|F-15 Eagle]]s
* [[33rd Fighter Wing|33rd Tactical Fighter Wing]] – provided air superiority cover for allied forces with [[McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle|F-15 Eagle]]s
* [[437th Airlift Wing|437th Military Airlift Wing]] – provided airlift support with [[C-141 Starlifter]]s
* [[1st Special Operations Wing]] – flew [[Lockheed AC-130|AC-130H Spectre]] gunships and [[Lockheed MC-130|MC-130E Combat Talons]]
* [[317th Airlift Group|317th Military Airlift Wing]] – provided airlift support with [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130 Hercules]] from [[Pope AFB]]/[[Fort Bragg]], NC complex to Grenada
* [[63d Military Airlift Wing]] – provided airlift support with [[Lockheed C-141 Starlifter|C-141 Starlifter]] aircraft in the air landing of Airborne troops, 63rd Security Police Squadron provided airfield security support – (Norton AFB CA)
* [[443d Airlift Wing|443rd Military Airlift Wing]], 443rd Security Police Squadron ([[Altus AFB]], OK) – provided a 44-man Airbase Ground Defense 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 ([[Tactical Air Control Party|TACPs]]) in support of the [[82nd Airborne Division]]
* [[552nd Air Control Wing]] – providing air control support with [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|E-3 Sentry]] [[Airborne early warning and control|AWACS]] aircraft
* 62nd Security Police Group (Provisional) Multi Squadron Law Enforcement & Security Forces – prisoner detaining and transport attached to 82nd Airborne
* [[60th Air Mobility Wing|60th Military Airlift Wing]]'s 60th Security Police Squadron (Travis AFB, CA) – provided airfield security in Grenada as well as Barbados. 602nd OMS provided aircraft recovery teams for cargo operations.

===Navy===

Two formations of U.S. warships took part in the invasion. {{USS|Independence|CVA-62|6}} carrier battle group; and Marine Amphibious Readiness Group, flagship {{USS|Guam|LPH-9|6}}, {{USS|Barnstable County|LST-1197|6}}, {{USS|Manitowoc|LST-1180|6}}, {{USS|Fort Snelling|LSD-30|6}}, and {{USS|Trenton|LPD-14|6}}. [[Carrier Group Four]] was allocated the designation Task Group 20.5 for the operation.
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width=99%
|+ ''Independence'' carrier battle group
! colspan="1" width="30%" align="center" | Surface warships
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[Carrier Air Wing Six]] (CVW-6) squadrons embarked aboard flagship ''Independence''
|-
| USS ''Independence''
| [[VFA-14|Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14)]]: 13 [[F-14A]]
| [[VAW-122|Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122)]]: 4 [[Grumman E-2 Hawkeye|E-2C]]
|-
| {{USS|Coontz}}
| [[VFA-32|Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32)]]: 14 F-14A
| [[VAQ-131|Electronic Attack Squadron 131 (VAQ-131)]]: 4 [[Grumman EA-6B Prowler|EA-6B]]
|-
| {{USS|Moosbrugger|DD-980|6}}
| [[VA-176 (U.S. Navy)|Attack Squadron 176 (VA-176)]]: 16 [[A-6E]]/[[KA-6 Intruder#Variants|KA-6D]]
| Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (15 HS-15): 6 [[Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King#US military|SH-3H]]
|-
| {{USS|Caron|DD-970|6}}
| [[VFA-87|Attack Squadron 87 (VA-87)]]: 12 A-7E
| VS-28|Sea Control Squadron 28 (VS-28): 10 [[Lockheed S-3 Viking|S-3A]]
|-
| {{USS|Clifton Sprague|FFG-16|6}}
| [[VFA-15|Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15)]]: 12 A-7E
| [[Carrier onboard delivery|COD]]: 1 [[Grumman C-1 Trader|C-1A]]
|-
| {{USS|Suribachi|AE-21|6}}
| ----
| ----
|}

In addition, the following ships supported naval operations:

{{USS|Kidd|DDG-993|6}}, {{USS|Aquila|PHM-4|6}}, {{USS|Aubrey Fitch|FFG-34|6}}, {{USS|Briscoe|DD-977|6}}, {{USS|Nicholson|DD-982|6}}, {{USS|Portsmouth|SSN-707|6}}, {{USS|Recovery|ARS-43|6}}, {{USS|Saipan|LHA-2|6}}, {{USS|Sampson|DDG-10|6}}, {{USS|Samuel Eliot Morison|FFG-13|6}}, {{USS|John L. Hall|FFG-32|6}}, {{USS|Silversides|SSN-679|6}}, {{USS|Taurus|PHM-3|6}}, {{USNS|Neosho|T-AO-143|6}}, {{USS|Caloosahatchee|AO-98|6}}, {{USS|Richmond K. Turner|CG-20|6}} {{USS|Trenton|LPD-14|6}}, and {{USS|Edson|DD-946|6}}.

===Coast Guard===

* {{USCGC|Chase|WHEC-718|6}}
* [[Law Enforcement Detachments]]
* [[HC-130]] aircraft

== See also ==

* [[United States involvement in regime change]]
* [[Foreign interventions by the United States]]
*'' [[Heartbreak Ridge]]'', a 1986 film which depicts the invasion

==Notes==

{{Reflist}}

==Primary sources==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130713000758/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/International_security_affairs/grenada/154.pdf Grenada Documents, an Overview & Selection], DOD & State Dept, Sept 1984, 813 pages.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130713000755/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/International_security_affairs/grenada/153.pdf Grenada, A Preliminary Report], DOD & State
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130713000815/http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/International_security_affairs/grenada/181.pdf Joint Overview, Operation Urgent Fury], 1 May 1985, 87 pages

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Adkin |first=Mark |url=https://archive.org/details/urgentfurybattle0000adki_p6g2 |title=Urgent fury: the battle for Grenada |publisher=[[Lexington Books]] |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-669-20717-0 |edition=3rd |series=Issues in low-intensity conflict series |location=Lexington, Mass. |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Badri-Maharaj |first=Sanjay |title=Urgent Fury: Grenada 1983 |publisher=Helion & Company |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-915-07073-9 |location=Warwick, UK}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Brands |first=H. W. |date=Winter 1987 |title=Decisions on American Armed Intervention: Lebanon, Dominican Republic, and Grenada |journal=[[Political Science Quarterly]] |volume=102 |issue=4 |pages=607–624 |doi=10.2307/2151304 |issn=0032-3195 |jstor=2151304}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cole |first=Ronald H. |url=https://www.jcs.mil/portals/36/documents/history/monographs/urgent_fury.pdf |title=Operation Urgent Fury: The Planning and Execution of Joint Operations in Grenada 12 October - 2 November 1983 |publisher=Joint History Office |year=1997 |location=Washington, D.C. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116194741/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/doctrine/history/urgfury.pdf |archive-date=16 November 2011 |url-status=live}} Official Pentagon study.
* {{Cite book |last=Gilmore |first=William C. |url=https://archive.org/details/grenadaintervent0000gilm |title=The Grenada intervention: analysis and documentation |publisher=[[Facts on File]] |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-87196-920-0 |location=New York, NY |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Charles |title=At her zenith: in London, Washington and Moscow |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-307-95897-6 |series=Margaret Thatcher |location=New York |pages=117–135}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Payne |first=Anthony |date=October 1984 |title=The Grenada crisis in British politics |journal=[[The Round Table (journal)|The Round Table]] |volume=73 |issue=292 |pages=403–410 |doi=10.1080/00358538408453664 |issn=0035-8533}}
* {{Cite book |last=Russell |first=Lee E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OYKICwAAQBAJ |title=Grenada 1983 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-85045-583-0 |series=Osprey military Men-at-arms series |location=London}} A military history.
* {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSh_DAAAQBAJ |title=US-Grenada Relations: Revolution and Intervention in the Backyard |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan US]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-349-53456-2 |location=New York |doi=10.1057/9780230609952}}

==External links==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120516233557/http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552557 Invasion of Grenada and Its Political Repercussions] from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160115205405/https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552494 Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050404045815/http://www.specialoperations.com/Operations/grenada.html Operation: Urgent Fury, Grenada]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000816045737/http://history.navy.mil/faqs/faq95-1.htm "Grenada, Operation Urgent Fury (23 October – 21 November 1983)"]—[[Naval History & Heritage Command]], U.S. Navy
* [https://www.marxists.org/history/grenada/index.htm Grenadian Revolution Archive] at [[marxists.org]]
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/the-dream-of-a-black-utopia/ The dream of a Black utopia], podcast from [[The Washington Post]]. Includes interview with [[Dessima Williams]], Grenada's former ambassador to the U.S.
* [http://www.ep.tc/grenada/ ''Grenada''] — a 1984 comic book about the invasion written by the CIA.

{{Cold War}}
{{American conflicts}}
{{Cuban conflicts}}
{{Presidency of Ronald Reagan}}{{Portal bar|1980s}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1983 in Grenada]]
[[Category:1983 in the United States|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:Airborne operations]]
[[Category:Cold War conflicts]]
[[Category:Communism in Grenada]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1983]]
[[Category:Counter-revolution]]
[[Category:Cuba–United States relations|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:Grenada–United States military relations|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:History of the Commonwealth of Nations]]
[[Category:History of Grenada]]
[[Category:Invasions by the United States|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:Invasions of Grenada]]
[[Category:Military expeditions of the United States|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:Operations involving American special forces|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:Presidency of Ronald Reagan]]
[[Category:Reagan administration controversies]]
[[Category:United States Army Rangers|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps in the 20th century|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:United States–Caribbean relations|Invasion of Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving Antigua and Barbuda|Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving Barbados|Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving Cuba|Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving Dominica|Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving Grenada| ]]
[[Category:Wars involving Jamaica|Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving Saint Lucia|Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|Grenada]]
[[Category:Wars involving the United States|Grenada]]
[[Category:Invasions]]
[[Category:Proxy wars]]
[[Category:October 1983 events in North America]]
[[Category:November 1983 events in North America]]
[[Category:December 1983 events in North America]]
[[Category:United States involvement in regime change|Invasion of Grenada]]

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Module:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/rfd (view source) (protected)
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Module:Plain text (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal (view source) (protected)
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Module:Portal bar (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal bar/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
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Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:String2 (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:WPMILHIST Infobox style (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:WPSHIPS utilities (view source) (template editor protected)
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Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to United States invasion of Grenada.

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