The AH-64 was first "blooded" in combat during Operation Just Cause in Panama in December 1989. The warbirds provided fire support for an assault on the Comandancia building of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega's Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF).
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) provides the U.S. Air Force’s counterparts to U.S. Army Special Forces (AKA “The Green Berets”), Navy SEALs, and Recon Marines.
The U.S. Marines have a problem. They rely on their CH-53E Super Stallion medium-heavy lift helicopters to move troops, vehicles, and supplies off of their ships. But the helicopters are wearing out. Fast. The pace demanded by the Global War on