4G-Inspiration: Latin America Incidents (1983-89)

This collection features military equipment involved in Latin American conflicts that inspired me to join the US Air Force.

OPERATION URGENT FURY (1983)
On October 25, 1983, the US launched an invasion of Grenada in response to internal political unrest following a coup and the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. This intervention, requested in part by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), aimed to stabilize the region and secure the safety of nearly 600 American medical students on the island. The US was also concerned about Grenada's increasing military ties with Cuba and construction of an airfield that raised Cold War tensions. This operation highlighted the effectiveness of joint forces operations and reinforced my decision to join the US Air Force. The following military equipment was used in the invasion:

United States:
* A-6E Intruder (US Navy)
• A-7D Corsair II (US Air National Guard)
* A-7E Corsair II (US Navy)
* A-10A Thunderbolt II (US Air Force)
* AC-130 Spectre (US Air Force)
* AH-1T Sea Cobra (US Marine Corps)
* CH-46E Sea Knight (US Marine Corps)
* CH-53E Sea Stallion (US Marine Corps)
* F-14A Tomcat (US Navy)
* F-15C Eagle (US Air Force)
• MH-6J Little Bird (US Army)
• UH-60A Black Hawk (US Army)

Grenada:
* BRDM-2 (Grenada People's Revolutionary Army)
• BTR-60PB (Grenada People's Revolutionary Army)
• ZU-23-2 AAA (Grenada People's Revolutionary Army)

OPERATION JUST CAUSE (1989)
The US invasion of Panama aimed to depose President Manuel Noriega, who was implicated in drug trafficking and racketeering, and posed an escalating challenge to US interests. By 1989, Noriega had severed ties with the US and was forging connections with adversarial states, including Cuba, Nicaragua, and Libya. Within a month of the invasion, Noriega surrendered, and US forces withdrew. This operation underscored the growing emphasis on countering drug trafficking and foreshadowed broader anti-narcotics efforts during my Air Force service.The following military equipment was used in the invasion:

United States:
• A-7D Corsair II (US Air National Guard)
* AC-130 Spectre (US Air Force)
• AH-64A Apache (US Army)
• EF-111A Raven (US Air Force)
• F-117A Nighthawk (US Air Force)
* OA-37B Dragonfly (US Air Force)
• UH-60A Blackhawk (US Air Force)

Panama:
* V-150 Armored Vehicle (Panama Defense Forces)
* V-300 Armored Vehicle (Panama Defense Forces)
• ZPU-1 AAA (Panama Defense Forces)
• ZPU-4 AAA (Panama Defense Forces)

* Wishlist
• Model featured in another collection