Commanders-in-Chief, USSOUTHCOM (1987-1991)

This monograph examines the legacy that has been passed down from the personal recollections made by the Commanders-in-Chief, U.S. Southern Command regarding planning and/or execution of full spectrum operations in Panama. The focus of this paper is on the thoughts and recollections of two dynamic leaders, General Frederick Frank Woerner, Jr. and Maxwell Reid Thurman. It examines their ideas and visions that subsequently shaped U.S. military operations in Panama, 1989-1991. This paper concentrates on actual first person documentation -- taped archived interviews -- by the CINCs as opposed to inferential accounts made by others. A steadfast effort has been made to capture, in their own words, the considerations, viewpoints and intent they had in shaping the planning and execution of U.S. military operations in Panama. This paper first looks at some of the key historical conditions that shaped the nature of the U.S. military presence in Panama. Second and thirdly, it focuses on capturing and examining the backgrounds of and recollections made by Woerner and Thurman respectively. Implications and conclusions of the leadership experience are then scrutinized to identify lessons learned in order to enhance and contribute to the institutional body of literature regarding the full spectrum of U.S. military operations. The leadership and operational experiences of Woerner and Thurman support the papers conclusion that the commander's vision is paramount in shaping the planning and execution of military action across the full spectrum of operations. Their experiences are timeless, resonating the cognitive and creative challenges leaders face in shaping and translating a vision into tangible action. In very different ways, both CINCs practiced operational art by translating the strategic aim, drawing on personal experience, critically analyzing military operations across full spectrum operations, and tackling complex, evolving situations as interdependent. This study emphasi