On 3 December 2001, following previous combat at the Battle of Shawali Kowt, as the Afghans scaled to the top of a ridge overlooking the Taliban-controlled town of Sayyd Alma Kalay, they were hit by machine gun fire and RPGs.

The Afghans began retreating, so Captain Jason Amerine and his men ran forward and fired down on the enemy.

Alan Yoshida, the air-combat controller, advanced toward the hilltop and directed airstrikes that wiped out three Taliban positions.

[2] The battle continued on 4 December, and Amerine's team finally drove off the Taliban and took control of the town and bridge while Hamid Karzai's men held the ridge.

As combat eased, the leaders from the army's Third Battalion headquarters arrived by helicopter on 5 December to give Amerine and his men a break.