US Army War Hero Lt. Col. Jason Amerine deserves better than this

[Statistikhengst]

It's a name that not too many know yet, but I bet it it going to become as well known as the name "Bergdahl".

Jason Amerine, born and raised in Hawaii, is a real American war hero with a distinguished career.

Three very different sources are reporting on what's going on with him. You really need to read some to get the full picture, without respect to any kind of partisan politics at all:

Why is this Special Forces war hero being investigated - CNN.com

Lt. Col. Jason Amerine, a Special Forces war hero who played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Taliban in the months after 9/11, is under investigation over a purported unauthorized disclosure relating to a U.S. hostage held overseas that was made to U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter's office.

Hunter, a California Republican, has been a vocal advocate in Congress for pushing efforts to help free American hostages held by al Qaeda and the Taliban.

A plan was developed in the Pentagon by Amerine, most recently a planner on the U.S. Army staff, to secure the release of those American hostages, according to a staff member on Hunter's committee.

The plan was to release Haji Bashir Noorzai, a prominent member of the Taliban who is in prison in the States on drug trafficking charges, in exchange for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Berghdal, who was held by the Taliban until last year as well as other Taliban hostages. They were: Caitlin Coleman, a U.S. citizen, and her husband, Canadian citizen Joshua Boyle, and Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker held by al Qaeda who was inadvertently killed in a CIA drone strike in January.

It's not clear how far, if anywhere, this plan of action went.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Army Criminal Investigation Command is probing what Amerine may have disclosed to members of Congress months ago...

...In a Facebook post this month, Amerine made his first public comments about the investigation, writing: "I have been under criminal investigation for the last four months for whistleblowing to Congress over our completely dysfunctional system for recovering hostages. The FBI formally complained to the Army about me reporting to Congress about their failed efforts to recover Warren Weinstein, Caitlin Coleman and the child she bore in captivity...If I learned nothing in my 22 years of service I learned that we never leave people behind."

What makes the investigation of Amerine so strange is that he is a bona fide war hero. According to research that I conducted for "The Longest War," a history of the war on terror, in the months after the 9/11 attacks, then-Capt. Jason Amerine was the leader of the U.S. Special Forces team embedded with Hamid Karzai, the future leader of Afghanistan, in Tarin Kowt, the provincial capital of the Afghan province of Uruzgan.

Ok, two takeaways from this: he is a bona-fide war hero, chiefly responsible for the Afghanistan war going so quickly in our favor. In fact, the US Army made a video about him and his team in 2006. This segment was released to youtube in 2008. This is worth watching:



And here is how the military was reporting over him at the time:

Hawaii Green Beret and his Special Forces team scored a key victory against the Taliban Stephens Media - American Valor


Second takeaway from the CNN link: what his plan proposed is exactly what many have been against very often: releasing a well-known terrorist in exchange for US hostages in captivity.


More here:

This Special Forces war hero turned whistleblower and now he s under investigation by the Army - The Washington Post

Amerine, a Green Beret officer, is preparing to leave the Army in coming days, according to his social media accounts. But Army Criminal Investigation Command began probing what he disclosed to members of Congress several months ago, and it isn’t clear whether that will affect his future.

The Army’s actions have raised concerns on Capitol Hill, where Reps. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.) and Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) petitioned Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno in February to stop what they characterized a “retaliatory investigation” against the Special Forces soldier...

...Amerine addressed the case after posting a link to a C-SPAN video showing Hunter discussing a congressional amendment focused on hostage recovery. It would require President Obama to appoint a specific existing federal official to oversee hostage tracking and recovery. Hunter credited Amerine with assisting his office in developing the legislation, which has since passed in the House.

“To get something like this done, it takes people within the Department of Defense, within the system, who … actually know what needs to get done,” Hunter said. “Lieutenant Colonel Jason Amerine has worked with my office now for about two years on this amendment, and he is someone that really cares. He’s been working hostage stuff with about every government agency that there is, and he played a big role in getting this to where it’s at now.”..

...The case pits one of the first heroes of the Afghanistan War against the Army. Amerine led a Special Forces team there in 2001, working alongside former Afghan President Hamid Karzai just before he became the interim leader of Kabul’s fledgling government followed the fall of the Taliban. Amerine, then a captain, was wounded by an errant American bomb on Dec. 5, 2001, thattkilled three other Special Forces soldiers.

Amerine received the Bronze Star with “V” and the Purple Heart for his role in the mission. The Army later labeled him a “Real Hero” in the 2006 version of its popular video game, “America’s Army.”

In an age where bipartisanship is almost impossible, you know it is something worth looking at and fighting for when both Democrats and Republicans are supporting this guy.


Third source:

Duncan Hunter Army battle over Green Beret Jason Amerine investigation - Washington Times

Now, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command is investigating Lt. Col. Jason Amerine for his collaboration with Mr. Hunter’s staff on legislation to overhaul the Obama administration’s hostage policies and hopefully win the freedom of captured Americans.

“It’s our belief that the Army investigation into Amerine is occurring strictly due to his association to Rep. Hunter,” Joe Kasper, Mr. Hunter’s chief of staff, told The Washington Times. “In fact, Rep. Hunter has met with representatives of the federal agencies involved, and he’s acquired a deep understanding of where and how the complaint against Amerine originated and the Army’s decision to proceed.”

Col. Amerine, who plans to retire soon, holds a special place in the history of the Afghanistan War. He led one of the first Green Beret A-teams into southern Afghanistan in 2001. His team then collaborated with Afghan fighters, one of them being Hamid Karzai, the future president of Afghanistan. The Green Beret-militia unit drove toward Kandahar before it was stopped, not by the Taliban but by the blast of a bomb dropped by a U.S. pilot.

At the Pentagon, Col. Amerine worked in a small Army unit, devoting his time to hostage issues. In January, he was escorted out of the Pentagon and assigned a desk job in Crystal City, Virginia...

...“The Army somehow thought it made sense to initiate a CID investigation into me executing both my duty and my right to speak to Congress,” Col. Amerine wrote.

Col. Amerine was scheduled to sit down Thursday with Criminal Investigation Command agents, but the Army informed the officer that his attorney could not be present because classified information would be discussed. According to Mr. Hunter’s office, the lawyer has a security clearance and will not let Col. Amerine answer questions without an attorney present. The session has been postponed.

“The Army could have cleared up the issue right away simply by talking to Amerine, but we’re told through multiple sources that there was insistence within the Army that he be investigated for his work to save the lives of Americans held captive, simply because Rep. Hunter was involved,” said Mr. Kasper, the chief of staff. “Most insulting is how the Army takes no care in disparaging one of its own, even a highly decorated war hero like Amerine.”

The Army did not respond to a query.

Here is Lt. Col. Jason Amerine's WIKI:

Jason Amerine - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia


Jason Amerine deserves better than this and you know that something is foul when both Democrats and Republicans are fighting on his behalf.

Please read ALL of the information before you respond.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Sounds like they're looking for a scapegoat after all the media attention on the 5 terrorists exchanged for Bergdahl. Try and blame this guy for that claiming he sabotaged negotiations or something along those lines.