On Sept. 26, 2001, the seven-member JAWBREAKER team was the first CIA group sent to Afghanistan after 9/11, landing in the Panjshir Valley with millions of dollars to enlist and equip Afghan allies. Its Mi-17 is restored and on display at CIA headquarters.
The CIA chose the Soviet-built Mi-17 because it blended in: the Northern Alliance and Taliban both used the model, CIA historian Rob Byer said. It could also cross the roughly 14,500-foot Anjuman Pass. The crew painted “USA” and a partly unfinished American flag on its stabilizers, visible to friendly pilots overhead but concealed from enemies on the ground, and gave it the call sign “9-11-01.” It flew more than 300 missions before leaving service in 2012. Restoration brought back “607,” the Afghan pilot’s call sign.
On Oct. 17, David Tyson and Team Alpha entered northern Afghanistan, becoming the first Americans sent behind Taliban lines to work with Uzbek commander Abdul Rashid Dostum’s forces. On Nov. 25, at Qala-i-Jangi near Mazar-e-Sharif, Tyson and CIA officer Mike Spann were identifying surrendered prisoners, including John Walker Lindh, when the prisoners revolted. Spann was killed, the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan. Tyson and Spann’s widow are involved with Badger Six, which says it supports about 35 families of Afghan fighters who worked with Team Alpha, offering food, medicine and relocation or resettlement help.
