Looking for Clues

The time was May 1989.
I could hear the whining of the hydraulics that let the back drop down on the C-5 aircraft. Light was filling the darkness inside the cigartube full of grunts. Humidity hit the interior of the plane like a hot barber's towel on the face.
Beautiful blue skies, mountains, ocean breezes, lots of automatic weapons. So this was Panama.
I would be missing my last certified PADI dive that weekend, as well as a closing on a house I made an offer on.
Instead, I got to take part in a mechanized convoy from Howard Air Force Base - the first American armored vehicles on that road in quite a few years. Cameras? Check. M-16? Check. A fucking clue? Ummm. Ahhh. Uhhhh.
This was a first for me. I grew up learning to go in the other direction when I heard gunshots. This time I had to be prepared to look, document and, if need be, return fire.
Nice.
Noreiga's perceived mandate was to force the American presence out, or if that failed, make them complient to his mini-mafia rule of that key Central American country. Our job was to change his mind, or if that failed, fuck his world and make him cry.
The Panama Canal was sovereign U.S. territory for nearly 100 years. There was a stretch of land on either side of the canal, running from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean that was legally the same as Miami or Dallas - American soil. It was like a Kipling tale told in Spanish.
The point arrives when I hear the ... I'll spare the jargon here ... situation. Panama is on the precipice of war. In fact, a defacto form of violent coercion was already the law for most folks. Macho-bullshit between armies was constantly at play. Individual soldiers with RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) were making the pucker factor high for Americaan military personnel.
There were Personal Movement Limitations for US forces. PMLs. Alpha was "everything good to go." Bravo was " watch your ass, but don't freak outas yet." Charlie was "your ass is on the line at a moment's notice but it ain't official yet." Delta was "lock and load."
All I want for Christmas is a tight shot group.
I had arrived in Panama under PML Charlie and my world has never been the same.