Jason Amerine

Jason Amerine
Born	1971 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1989 - present
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Operational Detachment Alpha 574
Commands held	Operational Detachment Alpha 574
Battles/wars	War in Afghanistan Battle of Tarin Kowt Battle of Shawali Kowt Battle of Sayyd Alma Kalay Fall of Kandahar
Awards	Bronze Star Medal Purple Heart Legion of Merit

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. For bravery in the invasion, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. He was also a "Real Hero" in the America's Army video game.

After graduating from West Point, Amerine volunteered for Ranger duty and then for Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) and thereafter headed up Texas 12, the codename for Operational Detachment Alpha 574 of the Army's 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. When training Kazakh paratroops in Kazakhstan, he received news of the September 11 attacks. He was assigned to help Afghan freedom fighters overthrow the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. He joined forces with local tribal leader Hamid Karzai, who assisted the US invasion via his own guerrilla war. In Uruzgan, Amerine with his Americans and Karzai with his freedom fighters both defended the town of Tarin Kowt from a Taliban attack. Next, the leaders marched on a campaign along the Arghandab River, fighting the Taliban at Shawali Kowt and Sayyd Alma Kalay. Both were US-Afghan victories, eventually leading to the capture of Kandahar, an Islamic spiritual center. Shortly after Karzai was elected to be interim leader of Afghanistan, Amerine was hit by friendly fire from a bomber. He lost three of his friends in the explosion, and learned three days later (in a hospital in Germany) that Kandahar had finally fallen to end the war. After recovering, he completed a master's degree in international affairs with an emphasis in national security at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University then taught at West Point as a Social Sciences, and later, an Arabic Language teacher.