Original 1989 Panamanian License Plate brought back by Bill Bennett during Operation Just Cause. Bill was USOUTHCOM’s primary operational planner for Operation JUST CAUSE to depose the Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Bennett wrote the operational portion of that plan and supervised completion of all technical aspects of the plan. He wrote a professional analysis of Operation JUST CAUSE, which was selected as the lead article for an issue of Military Review.
*Photo of Bennett NOT included and is for reference only*
From the estate of William C. (Bill) Bennett who was born in Clarinda, Iowa on 19 April 1947 to William G. and Elizabeth I. (Vaughn) Bennett. Bill passed away on 11 March 2023. He is survived by his wife, Lan; sons Dale, Douglas, and Dennis with his wife, Cuong; three siblings, Vaughn Bennett, Glenwood IA; Colleen Gawley, Elkhorn, NE; and Marguerite Bennett, Ames, IA; four grandchildren Elizabeth, Robert, Michaela, and MyRa. He was preceded in death by sons David Charles and Robert William.
Bill was raised in a small, north-central Iowa town where the strong Mid-west characteristics of hard work and ethical behavior for which the region is known were imbued in his character. Bill entered West Point from the Iowa Army National Guard on 1 July 1966. He often joked that since he could not make Private First Class in the Guard, he went off to the Academy. Upon graduation and commissioning as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry on 3 June 1970, Bill completed branch, Airborne, and Ranger training. He was first assigned to Co. B, 75th Rangers as a Patrol Platoon Leader at Ft. Carson. On deployment to Vietnam, he served as Recon Platoon Leader for 2/502 Inf., 101st Airborne Division. Subsequently, he was Executive Officer of a Mobile Training Team of the Forces Armee National Khmer (FANK) Training Command, a legacy Special Forces program, which trained Vietnamese and Cambodian soldiers mauled by the Easter Offensive. On his return to CONUS, Bennett served as an A-Team Leader of a Special Forces Military Free Fall team for 24 months. Over the next four years, Bill served in tactical operations positions and commanded three companies, including Co. C, 1st Battalion, 28 Inf., 1st ID; CSC, 2nd Battalion, 47 Inf., 9th ID; and HQ Co., 2nd Battalion, 75 Rangers. Promoted to Major, Bill advised Special Forces and infantry US Army Reserve and National Guard units in Washington and Oregon. Following completion of Command & General Staff College he was assigned as XO, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. During this period he was awarded Forces Command's "4th Estate Award" for an article, which was published in Military Review, on China's civil-military relations. Bill served as U.S. Southern Command’s, Chief of Current Operations and, subsequently, Special Operations Division, Operations Directorate during the period 1988-1991. He was USOUTHCOM’s primary operational planner for Operation JUST CAUSE to depose the Panamanian dictator. He wrote the operational portion of that plan and supervised completion of all technical aspects of the plan. He wrote a professional analysis of Operation JUST CAUSE, which was selected as the lead article for an issue of Military Review. Assigned as an Action Officer in the Western Hemisphere Branch, Current Operations Division, Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations on the Army Staff immediately prior to the Persian Gulf War, Bill provided daily operational briefings to the Army's senior leadership in the Army Operations Center. Escaping the Pentagon, Bill served as the Deputy Director of Operations for a USSOCOM brigade sized special mission unit, he provided daily operational supervision to 60 diverse men and women involved in planning and supporting sensitive, worldwide special operations missions conducted in the interagency environment. He developed a training model whereby specified unit members received high-value training prior to deployment. In his final active duty assignment, Bill was U.S. Special Operations Command’s Deputy Chief of the Training Division, Director of Operations. He coordinated the establishment of a SOF Fellowship program in lieu of Senior Service College at the Naval Postgraduate School for officers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force SOF communities. After retiring from active duty, he supported USSOCOM as a contractor in several disciplines for 20 years. The highlight of this period was the year-long deployment as USSOCOM’s Historian in Afghanistan.
