Tomorrow we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the
invasion. An important event that changed the course of US armed forces Special
Operations. It also stopped the expansion and influence of the Soviet Union,
Cuba in the Caribbean. A small island became an important pawn during the Cold
War where the US and Soviet Union and their proxies battled for every strategic
choke point in the world.
Grenada became just that. In 1983 the Cubans with Soviet
support began expanding the airstrip at
Point Salines; to accommodate the larger Tupolev 95(Bear) used in anti
submarine warfare. Also the strip became like a permanent concrete aircraft
carrier that served as a stopover for the troops leaving Africa, and as they
did; would leave their gear (over 10,000 small arms mostly AK47, RPG's, ) which
would later be resold regionally to terrorist organizations such as FARC
(Colombian Revolutionary Armed Front) or ELN (National Liberation Army) also in
Colombia. The airstrip would also serve as a forward operating base for Cuban
MiG 23's that would provide the absolute coverage of the entire South Eastern Caribbean.
So it permitted, The Cuban & Soviet guard post would have provided a
multitude of roles. It even gets better, a potential eavesdropping
communication site for ultra low frequency that could monitor the strait of Grenada (an underwater pass between Grenada
& Tobago)
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