On September 11, 2001, as terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon, then-Captain Jason Amerine and the men under his command of Operational Detachment A-Team within the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) were already in the Middle East, in the Republic of Kazakhstan where they were training Kazakh paratroopers in counter-insurgency operations.

Upon hearing of the attacks in New York and Washington, Capt. Amerine knew that the country was at war, and where it was going to take place—Afghanistan, ruled by the tyrannical regime of the Taliban. On November 14 2001, Amerine led ODA 574 into Afghanistan on a mission whose outcome would be of vital importance. Acting in concert with Afghan freedom fighters, Amerine’s men were to spearhead one of several coordinated efforts to topple the Taliban regime, and remove from power the men who had brutalized the country while providing a sanctuary for Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist training camps.

The Special Forces of ODA 574 were experts in unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense, and could operate independently from U.S. ground forces while retaining the ability to call in naval and Air Force systems to any point on a given battlefield. Their training and expertise would prove invaluable in Afghanistan—a country with terrain so rugged, it was infamous as being a place foreign armies would meet their doom. Amerine’s men were not a foreign army, however, but were allies of the indigenous freedom fighters.

One of the leaders of the Afghan opposition was Hamid Karzai, who for years had struggled against Taliban rule. Upon their entry into Afghanistan, Amerine and ODA 574 linked up with Karzai and his band of 200 freedom fighters to begin operations in an effort to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban, and install a democratically elected government. On November 16, Karzai’s Afghan force, along with ODA 574, entered the town of Tarin Kot. After conferring with local leaders, Karzai notified Amerine that the Taliban had gathered a large force into a convoy of over 100 vehicles at the city of Kandahar. From there, they planned to advance through the mountain passes and retake Tarin Kot.

At 0200 the next morning, reconnaissance reports alerted Amerine that a large convoy was approaching from the south. Based on word from Karzai that any northbound convoy would be Taliban, he gave his response: “Well, smoke ‘em.” He then led his men and a few dozen of Karzai’s fighters south to take up positions on a mountain where they could cover the Taliban’s avenue of advance. When the enemy appeared, Amerine called in massive air strikes, destroying much of the convoy. The Taliban continued its advance toward Tarin Kot, but was fought off by the men under Amerine and Karzai’s command. The enemy convoy was decimated, and the few vehicles which attempted to flee to Kandahar were completely destroyed.

Following this early victory, Hamid Karzai was able to assemble a formidable force, and negotiated the surrender of several Taliban groups. Soon, with the assistance of ODA 574, he moved south against the Taliban’s stronghold at Kandahar, and on December 5, 2001, they surrendered the city. The Taliban would be routed from Afghanistan, and Hamid Karzai would go on to become the president of the country, in a new beginning for this war-torn land. But without the direct assistance of ODA 574 under Jason Amerine, the ultimate victory would have come at a much higher cost.

The men of ODA 574 were awarded three Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars for Valor, and three Bronze Stars—all eleven members received Purple Hearts. It is for his leadership and valor in one of the most pivotal moments in the liberation of Afghanistan that Major Jason Amerine is the recipient of the 2007 Paul Ray Smith Award.