Thread by @tobyharnden

THREAD: 20 years ago 9/26, the first Americans to infiltrate Afghanistan after 9/11 flew fm Tashkent via Dushanbe in an @CIA Mi-17 & landed in Panjshir Valley, which was controlled by Northern Alliance. Their codename was JAWBREAKER (First Casualty p. 53). Who were these men? - 1

There were initially seven men in JAWBREAKER (as time went on, the team had a shifting & expanding cast), led by Gary Schroen, an SIS-3 (Lt. Gen. equiv.) case officer, 59 & about to retire. A former Islamabad station chief, he’d worked with mujahideen agst. Soviets in 1980s - 2

JAWBREAKER (official name was NALT - Northern Alliance Liaison Team) deputy was Phil Reilly, a paramilitary officer & former Army SOF soldier destined for highest ranks of @CIA. He later became chief of Special Activities Division & London station chief - 3

Chris Wood, NE Division, also in JAWBREAKER. Mentor to Team Alpha’s David Tyson (First Casualty p. 7) Later chief Islamabad & Kabul stations, & dir. CTMC. Key role in Osama bin Laden kill mission 2011. Seen as 1 of best case officers of generation. Retired 2016 after 31 yrs - 4

Two of JAWBREAKER 7 were @CIA contractors. Dave Phillips, 55, was medic. Was Army SF 18-D sgt. wounded Vietnam. Had been in Uzbekistan with Predator program & was returning to US on 9/11 - plane diverted to Gander 🇨🇦 (First Casualty p. 53-4). Now writes historical novels - 5

Another @CIA contractor on JAWBREAKER was “Murray.” Former SEAL & former @CIA technical operations officer. Worked in Riyadh during 1991 Gulf War. “Stan” was former Marine, case officer also paramilitary trained. Gary Schroen’s “First In” describes them - 6

Comms officer for JAWBREAKER was John Peppe. Curiously, 10 years ago Peppe sued Random House & Gary Schroen for $1 million for allegedly blowing his cover in photos in Schroen book (where he’s “Pappy”). This blurred photo had been unblurred in paperback edition - 7

4 others were in Mi-17. CIA pilots Ned Hubard (Vietnam veteran) & “Buck,” & two Afghans. Nazir, himself a pilot, was guide thru Hindu Kush. Nazir now lives in Virginia. I interviewed him at his home last year. I met Ned (pic here) at a bar in Alabama. He’s flown 150+ aircraft - 8

What was JAWBREAKER relationship with other nine @CIA teams? All were commanded by CTC/SO chief Hank Crumpton. JB was first into Afghanistan, but Team Alpha (pic, landed 10/17) was 1st behind enemy lines. For weeks, JB was static in Panjshir, while Alpha fought & moved - 9

There was friction between Schroen & J.R. Seeger, Team Alpha chief - natural in war - as they competed for air support. Schroen was with Fahim Khan & Tajiks, Seeger with Dostum (pic) & Uzbeks. Fahim wanted more US $$$ & bombs before he’d move. Dostum wanted to kill Taliban - 10

Problematic dynamic btw. Atta Mohammed Noor (pic)Tajik leader, Fahim & Dostum. Atta was with Dostum south of Mazar. Aligned with Fahim, he was rival as well as ally of Dostum. This led to Atta getting @CIA Team Bravo & ODA in early Nov. Atta & Dostum then took Mazar together - 11

First Casualty p.105: “With Fahim demanding more and more as his price for fighting, Schroen and
J.R. locked in almost nightly battles over which American team should
get what.” Alex Hernandez. Alpha deputy, feared Fahim’s inaction was hobbling & endangering Team Alpha - 12

First Casualty p. 105-6: “The Jawbreaker team was fixed in place. They had ordered bags of Starbucks coffee from CIA headquarters, which arrived along with two percolators.” Schroen watched sunrise from patio chair each morning. Team Alpha was in mountains, on horseback - 13

First Casualty p. 107: “The problems in the Panjshir Valley and Dostum’s strength, underscored by Alex [Hernandez], led to a shift of strategy by [Hank] Crumpton. Cajoling Fahim and the Tajiks would continue, but in the meantime the focus would be on Mazar-i Sharif.” - 14

Mazar fell on Nov. 9. That pushed Fahim & Tajiks into action & Kabul fell on Nov. 12. By this time, Gary Schroen had been replaced as JAWBREAKER chief by Gary Berntsen. New JB team members included Brian, a paramilitary & fmr. marine, close friend of Alpha’s Mike Spann - 15

Brian now leads @CIA Special Activities Center. In 2017, the JAWBREAKER Mi-17 helicopter was brought piece by piece to CIA HQ - it’s now beside the main parking lot. I saw it the other day. Number painted on it is 91101 - date of the reason for JAWBREAKER mission - 16 END THREAD