Operational Detachment Alpha 574 is a part of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
's Third Battalion,
5th Special Forces Group. At the beginning of
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
it operated in Afghanistan to help defeat the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
and create conditions for the establishment of a
democratic government
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...
in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
Jason Amerine
Jason Amerine (born 1971) is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Special Forces. He served in the Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, in which he aided tribal leader Hamid Karzai in fighting a guerrilla war against the Taliban. F ...
was noted for leading the group in several battles of the
Invasion of Afghanistan
In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operations ...
.
Invasion of Afghanistan
ODA 574, nicknamed "Texas 12" (Texas One-Two), was a group of 12 U.S Special Forces soldiers from Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th SFG
under the command of Captain
Jason Amerine
Jason Amerine (born 1971) is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Special Forces. He served in the Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, in which he aided tribal leader Hamid Karzai in fighting a guerrilla war against the Taliban. F ...
. They deployed from
Karshi-Khanabad Air Base
Karshi-Khanabad, better known as K2, is an air base in southeastern Uzbekistan, just east of Qarshi, Karshi. It is home to the 60th Separate Mixed Aviation Brigade of the Military of Uzbekistan, Uzbek Air Force.
History
From 1954 to 1981, the ...
(nicknamed K2 by the Special Forces) just outside of
Tarin Kowt
Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaa ...
on 14 November, accompanied by
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
militia leader,
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
, who was returning from exile. Their primary objective was to capture the Islamic spiritual center in the city of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
. To capture the province. it was necessary to first capture the town of Tarin Kowt. The civilians of the town overthrew the Taliban governor, so Karzai and Amerine moved in to help defend it. The 12 Americans of ODA 574, assisted by U.S.
close air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
and 35 Afghans, successfully
defended Tarin Kowt against 1,000 Taliban delivered by 100 trucks. After this victory, they went on to defeat the Taliban further along the
Arghandab River
Arghandab is a river in Afghanistan, about in length. It rises in Ghazni Province, west of the city of Ghazni, and flows southwest passing near the city of Kandahar, and then joins the Helmand River below Grishk. In its lower course, it is ...
, at
Shawali Kowt and
Sayyd Alma Kalay.}
Friendly fire incident
As Karzai's forces pushed south towards Kandahar, an error by an attached United States Air Force
Tactical Air Control Party
The Tactical Air Control Party, commonly abbreviated TACP, is a small team of military personnel who provide coordination between aircraft and ground forces when providing close air support.
Australia
Australian TACPs are provided by the RAAF ...
on 5 December caused a
Joint Direct Attack Munition
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Pos ...
(JDAM) to fall short of its intended target, 100 yards from their position. It killed Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald "Donnie" Davis, Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, and SFC Daniel H. Petithory and twenty members of Karzai's militia. Five other members of ODA 574 and Karzai were wounded. Five minutes after the friendly fire incident, Hamid Karzai was notified by a satellite phone call that he'd been selected to lead Afghanistan's new interim government.
Capture of Kandahar
Hamid Karzai accepted the surrender of the Taliban on December 5
th, 2001, in Showali Kowt as the members of ODA 574 were medically evacuated out of Afghanistan. Various units streamed into Kandahar after the surrender including ODA 586 and ODA 524.
Awards
For their bravery in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, Operational Detachment Alpha 574 was awarded three
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
s, four
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
s for Valor, three
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
s, and eleven
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...
s. Amerine himself was awarded a
Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
and a
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Special forces units and formations in the United States Army