What is Acid Gambit

The true story of the 1989 rescue mission.

On the surface level, AG is an LLC founded upon the principles of high competency coaching, balance in aerobic/anaerobic training, and trust (meeting an athlete’s needs uncompromisingly). 

These are aspects I looked for when I was learning from others. Did the coach know his stuff? Did the training have a balance in training to meet my goals? And was there a level of trust in who I was learning from?

The name ACID GAMBIT originates from Operation Acid Gambit, a famed rescue mission in 1989 in which 23 SMU operators infilled via 160th Little Birds to rescue Kurt Muse from a Panamanian prison. Havoc ensued, and with Muse successfully in hand, the team exfilled via the same Little Birds and support from a 5th ID APC.

But it goes deeper than that. 

Kurt Muse was an American born Panama resident for most of his life. When Noriega and the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) began to thwart the growth of democracy, Muse took proactive steps to fight the oppression. 

He began using Miami-sourced radio scanning and transmitting equipment to erect stronger radio transmissions over the Panamanian broadcasts to transmit anti-Noriega messages. It was essentially a pirate-radio station to block Panamanian repeater towers. During this time it is known the CIA assisted in Muse’s operations, but not to what extent. 

Over time, Noriega grew increasingly irate with the broadcasts and even hired specialists from East Germany and Cuba to hunt down the perpetrator. However they were not the ones to bring Muse in. In fact, an arrest-on-site notice was placed on Muse at the international Panama Airport, and an army official spotted him, and was later brought in to secret police HQ in downtown Panama City. 

Over the next 9 months, Muse was interrogated, sleep deprived, tortured, and forced to live in barbaric living conditions in the infamous Carcel Modelo (Model Prison).

Also during this time were countless acts of torture to other inmates, on a daily occurrence for Muse to see and hear. One such instance was the wrapping of a Panamanian man in an American Flag, hung from a basketball hoop by his handcuffed wrists, and beaten with clubs and rubber hoses. 

President George H.W. Bush was fully aware of these conditions, which led to the planning of Delta working alongside the 160th to rescue Muse. During this time, the prison was transformed into a military facility, and an armed guard was posted outside Muse’s cell, with orders to kill him if any U.S. action was taken against Panama.

Delta trained significantly to prepare for Muse’s rescue. Although planning took place in FBNC, a full scale training facility was built in Eglin Air Force Base including a three-story mockup of the prison with continuously increasing features based on intel reporting. With this facility, extensive live-fire rehearsals took place in preparation.

THE INVASION. On 17DEC89, US Forces were placed on alert for Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama to displace General and dictator Manuel Noriega, dissolve the PDF, and regain the neutrality of the Panama Canal. 

At 0045 on 20DEC89, both Operation Just Cause and Operation Acid Gambit began.

Two AH-6 Little Birds swooped over the compound, eliminating potential sniper threats via 7.62 miniguns and 2.75in unguided rockets. Following the strafing runs, two AC-130 gunships assumed a Top Hat flying configuration to continuously strike 5 buildings in the prison compound. During this assault, a small nearby Delta sniper team was also eliminating targets and relaying intel to the rescue force. 

4 Little Birds shortly touched down with 4 operators on-board each bird, dropping onto the roof of the prison. They moved swiftly into the prison after an explosive breach on the roof-access door. While entering the building, the gunships unloaded their 40mm cannons on the 3rd floor of the facility. 

Shortly after, the operators shot the guard tasked with killing Muse, and blew open his cell door. Muse was then given body armor and a helmet, and swiftly brought out of the cell, quickly moving to the roof.

2 Little Birds ushered the operators off the roof, with Muse in a protective position between two operators. 

When taking off, the Little Bird carrying Muse saw through his NVGs he was heading straight for power lines, and immediately pulled up over the lines. The demands on the aircraft carrying a significant amount of munitions and personnel caused it to lose altitude quickly. As a result, the pilot was forced to “drive” the bird along the streets less than 60’ above to gain as much distance between the prison and the inevitable crash. The bird was then hit with successive burst of gunfire, causing it to veer off onto the street and collapse on its side. 

Muse and the operator guiding him exited the bird, but a still-rotating rotor blade struck the operator in the head. Now bleeding, he quickly gained consciousness and immediately checked if Muse was unharmed. Remarkably, none were killed, and the team of operators and pilots took a defensive perimeter. Muse was given a pistol and the team held their position in the street for 15 minutes until 5th ID APCs were able to extract the team. Not only was this an extremely successful mission in rescuing Kurt Muse with zero American fatalities (although some were wounded from enemy fire during the crash landing), this was also the first American counter-terrorist team ever to rescue an American Hostage from enemy control.

This story further outlines the significance of training intensely and consistently, as well as applying specificity to accomplish a specific goal. Looking even closer at the naming convention of Operation Acid Gambit, we’ll define Gambit: an action, typically entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage. 

Is that not something we do each and everyday while striving for excellence? In chess, gambit is defined as an opening that often sacrifices a pawn for the sake of an advantage in position. 

The question must be asked, what will we risk, or sacrifice, for the sake of being in a better position? This often manifested as when the pain of NOT doing something exceeds the pain of continuing to do an act, such as eating unhealthy or not working out. 

ACID GAMBIT adopts fundamentals from the operation, the principles we mentioned at the beginning, and the ability to assume risk to accomplish a long term vision. Every day we sacrifice short to gratification for our long term vision. We don’t eat that donut, we sit down and write to (hopefully) further educate our audience, and continuously put out high quality training for our clients. Sometimes, if not all the time, it pays to be risk-on and delay our short term gratification to meet our long term vision. 

We are ACID GAMBIT and if you take nothing else away, don’t be a loser, train hard, and live for a higher purpose.