First Troops Pulled Out of Panama : Deployments: 141 artillerymen from Ft. Ord are on their way home. Bush says there are no new developments on the Noriega standoff.

The Pentagon has begun withdrawing the U.S. invasion force from Panama, sending 141 soldiers on their way home to Ft. Ord, Calif., the White House announced Monday.

The withdrawal, the first since President Bush launched an invasion of Panama in the early morning darkness of Dec. 20, was announced aboard Air Force One as the President flew from Montgomery, Ala., to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington at the end of a New Year’s holiday.

“The President is glad to see some of the troops coming home and hopes the rest can leave as soon as possible,” White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater told reporters.

Bush made no public comments about the withdrawal, but the White House indicated that more troops are likely to return home within the next few days.

The troops were among the units that overthrew the regime of Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega.

After eluding capture for 4 1/2 days, Noriega sought refuge on Christmas Eve in the Vatican’s embassy in Panama City. Vatican, Panamanian and U.S. officials have been involved since then in negotiations in an effort to solve what Bush has called a “conundrum” over the former Panamanian leader’s future.

These talks, initially conducted through diplomatic channels in Washington, Panama City and the Vatican, intensified beginning Saturday, with representatives of all three parties reported to be holding sessions in Panama City in an effort to come to a solution.

The United States wants to bring Noriega to trial in federal court in Florida on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering contained in indictments returned by grand juries in Miami and Tampa. Panama’s attorney general has announced that he is preparing murder charges against Noriega in the killing of 10 Panama Defense Forces officers involved in a failed attempt to topple the strongman last Oct. 3.

Asked on Monday whether there were any developments leading to a resolution of the Noriega question, Bush replied, “Nope.”

He has carefully sought to avoid any comment on the matter in recent days in an effort to avoid angering the Vatican.

The Vatican traditionally grants sanctuary to persons fleeing religious or political persecution. But the United States maintains that Noriega is fleeing criminal indictments and is not entitled to political asylum.

The first unit to be withdrawn is made up of 56 soldiers forming part of an artillery battery from Ft. Ord. The troops arrived at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio late Monday night and are scheduled to leave for Ft. Ord. early today, an Army spokeswoman said.

Pentagon official said another plane carrying troops ultimately bound for Ft. Ord was due at Kelly but the timing was not immediately clear.

Asked whether the first pullout was large enough to be considered a withdrawal, Fitzwater said: “You’ve got to start with one. We want them all to come out as soon as possible. Chances are they’ll come out piecemeal like this.”

Bush, asked Sunday about how soon the troops would start coming home, gave no hint that a withdrawal was about to begin, saying only, “The sooner the better.”

Speaking with reporters aboard the presidential jet, Fitzwater said on Monday that “we want them all to come out as soon as possible, except the 12,000 there permanently.”

Quarry Heights, Panama, is headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command, which has jurisdiction over all American military forces south of the U.S. frontier with Mexico. About 12,000 service people are permanently stationed at Quarry Heights and at other U.S.-operated bases extending along the Panama Canal. Their primary mission is the defense and protection of the canal under the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977.

As it built up its forces for last month’s invasion, the Pentagon dispatched an additional 12,000 troops and support personnel to Panama, and once the invasion was under way, up to 2,000 additional troops were sent there. The operational force encountered difficulties during the first days of the invasion in combatting civil disorders that followed the defeat of the Panama Defense Forces, up until then Panama’s sole military, police and security force. Noriega was commander of the now-disbanded PDF.

“My guess is we’ll see small groups like this coming out on a continuing basis from now on,” Fitzwater said. “The chances are that they’ll come out piecemeal like this because of varying duty assignments and mop-up details.”

Fitzwater’s expectation was confirmed in Panama by an official of the Southern Command who said that an unidentified contingent with 15 vehicles will be leaving there today and that “additional redeployment” will take place over the next several days.

Under standard military operating procedure, withdrawal of combat troops begins within weeks of a successful invasion, after initial objectives have been achieved. The remaining troops are assigned a mixture of duties, including taking over the operations of decimated military units in the invaded country.

In recent days, Bush has encountered public demonstrations protesting the invasion and demanding that the troops be called home.

He ran into such demonstrations over the weekend in Texas. These included protests that took place during a short trip made by the President between three military bases in San Antonio--one of them Kelly Air Force Base--during a morning he spent visiting with soldiers and Marines injured in the invasion and brought back to Texas for treatment.

In addition, about three dozen protesters demanding a withdrawal from Panama greeted him Sunday afternoon in Houston outside the hotel where he maintains a residence.

In visiting the wounded troops, Bush made a point of telling them: “The country . . . is behind what you did. (Although) every once in a while, somebody might take a shot at all of us.”

Times staff writer Kenneth Freed, in Panama City, contributed to this story.

NEW CANAL CHIEF--A Panamanian quietly takes over the top post. A12