Johnny Micheal Spann

Johnny Micheal Spann
Born	(1969-03-01)March 1, 1969 Winfield, Alabama, U.S.
Died	November 25, 2001(2001-11-25) (aged 32) Qala-i-Jangi, Balkh Province, Afghanistan
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1991–1999
Rank	Captain
Unit	Special Activities Division
Battles/wars	War in Afghanistan Battle of Qala-i-Jangi †
Awards	Intelligence Star Exceptional Service Medallion
Spouse(s)	Kathryn Ann Webb Shannon Spann
Children	3
Other work	Central Intelligence Agency (1999–2001)

Johnny Micheal "Mike" Spann (March 1, 1969 – November 25, 2001) was an American paramilitary officer in the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division. Spann was the first American killed in combat during the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He died at the Qala-i-Jangi fortress during a Taliban prisoner uprising.

Early life[]

Johnny Micheal Spann was from the small town of Winfield, Alabama, the son of a real estate agent and his wife. Spann graduated in 1987 from Winfield City High School, where he played football. At 17, he earned his private pilot license and later became a certified rescue diver and parachutist.

Military service[]

In December 1991, while attending Auburn University, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. After graduating from Auburn with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement in 1992, Spann attended the Marines' Officer Candidates School at Quantico, Virginia. He had originally wanted to go into aviation, but became a field artillery officer and eventually served with the 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company.^[1] He specialized in close air support. In 1997, he was second-in-command for UNITAS, a joint exercise expedition in Latin America and Africa.^[2]

He served six years with the United States Marine Corps and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan and at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, eventually achieving the rank of Captain. Spann joined the CIA in June 1999 and, after training at The Farm, was assigned to the Special Operations Group of the CIA's Special Activities Division, including a tour in the Balkans in the summer of 2001.^[3][4] On October 17, 2001, Spann was one of the eight members of the CIA's Team Alpha^[5] who were inserted into the Darya Suf Valley, south of Mazar-i-Sharif. The eight were the first Americans behind enemy lines after 9/11. Three days later, they were joined by 12 Green Berets from ODA 595.

Death at Qala-i-Jangi[]

Spann was killed during an uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi compound near Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. Earlier that day, he and David Tyson, a CIA case officer and Uzbek-language specialist based in Tashkent, questioned John Walker Lindh, an American citizen, and other prisoners.

Afghans recovered his body after Afghan Northern Alliance troops, backed by U.S. air strikes, US Army Special Forces and British Special Boat Service members, quelled the uprising.

Some sources say that he fought with his AK-47 until it ran out of ammunition, then drew his pistol until it, too, emptied, then resorted to hand-to-hand combat before finally being overcome. In a news report by Time published shortly after the events, it was stated that Spann fought only with his pistol, killing three attackers before being overwhelmed by the more numerous prisoners. His colleague Tyson opened fire with the AK-47 before running away.

Time reported shortly after the events:

According to members of a German television crew who were later trapped in the fort with Dave, Spann asked the prisoners who they were and why they joined the Taliban. They massed around him. 'Why are you here?' Spann asked one. 'To kill you,' came the reply as the man lunged at Spann's neck. Spann drew his pistol and shot the man dead. Dave shot another, then grabbed an AK-47 from an Alliance guard and opened fire. According to eyewitness accounts given to the German team, the Taliban fighters launched themselves at Spann, scrabbling at his flesh with their hands, kicking and beating him. Spann killed two more with his pistol before he disappeared under the crush.^[6]

Memorial[]

Spann's headstone in Arlington National Cemetery.

Spann is memorialized with a star on the CIA Memorial Wall at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia that commemorates individuals who died in the line of duty. Spann was posthumously awarded the Intelligence Star and the Exceptional Service Medallion.^[7]

Because the Intelligence Star is considered the equivalent of the U.S. military's Silver Star, Spann was approved for burial in Arlington National Cemetery.^[8][9]

A small memorial to Mike Spann exists at Qala-i-Jangi. A forward operating base is named in his honor.^[10]

The Alabama legislature named a section of Alabama Highway 129 the "Johnny Micheal Spann Highway" in his honor.^[11]

Memorial at Qala-i-Jangi Fortress

Home and family[]

Spann lived in Manassas Park, Virginia, and was survived by his wife, Shannon, also a CIA officer, and three children, Alison, Emily, and Jake. His ex-wife, Kathryn Ann Webb, mother of two of his children, died of cancer five weeks after Spann's death.^[12]

See also[]

• Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
• Operation Enduring Freedom

References[]

Sources[]

• H.Con.Res. 281: Honoring Johnny Micheal Spann. United States House of Representatives. December 11, 2001.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johnny Micheal Spann.

• Honor Mike Spann – Web site about him, but also deals with John Walker Lindh's activities in Afghanistan, maintained by his family.
• House Concurrent Resolution 281, provided by the Federation of American Scientists – U.S. legislation which honored the memory of Spann.
• Remarks by Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet at funeral of Johnny Micheal Spann – Note: "Micheal" is spelled correctly.
• Got To Decide if He Wants to Live or Die Here' – The interrogation of John Walker Lindh by Spann, shortly before the uprising in which he died.
• Johnny Micheal Spann at ArlingtonCemetery•net, an unofficial website