https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/story/2022-12-20/san-diego-va-medical-center-renamed-jennifer-moreno

This year marks ten year since Capt. Jennifer Moreno, a nurse at Madigan Army Medical Center, died during an attack that wounded 30 Army Rangers and killed a total of four Soldiers. 

Moreno was commissioned as a nurse into the Army and volunteered to deploy for the first time with joint special operations task force as a Cultural Support Team member. 

On the evening of Oct. 5, 2013, Moreno and the other Soldiers of the regiment were performing a raid on an enemy bomb-making compound in the Zhari District of Afghanistan. It was there that a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device. Following the explosion, other enemy insurgents activated more improvised explosives.

Moreno went to the aid of another Soldier wounded in the attack and while attending to a fellow soldier, she stepped on a concealed landmine and was killed.

She was posthumously promoted to captain and awarded the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and NATO Medal.

Jennifer Madai Moreno exemplified valor and honor for laying down her life in the Afghanistan War. Today, she continues to be greatly respected through acts of recognition, gifts, medals, titles, and establishments for her time in service.  

Captain Moreno was born in San Diego, California on June 25, 1988, to mother Marie V. Cordero. Her sisters are Jeraldy Moreno and Yaritza Cordova and brother Ivan Fernando Moreno who is currently serving in the U.S. Army.  

In 2004, she attended San Diego High School and attended the University of San Francisco to get a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing while simultaneously participating in the ROTC program to commission with 2nd Lt. ranks in the Army Nurse Corps as a 66-Medical-Surgical Nurse. Additionally, she completed the U.S. Army Airborne Course 2009 at Ft. Benning and the Army Medical Department Officer Basic Course 2010 at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. Captain Moreno was stationed at Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. She deployed as a clinical staff nurse on a medical surgical unit for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) Cultural Support Team Program Ft. Benning. 

During her first deployment in 75th Ranger Regiment, Moreno served as a 1st Lt in Operation Enduring Freedom during the Afghanistan War. She and her team were at the Kandahar Province performing combat operations when an assault involving multiple enemy-triggered suicidal explosive and improvised devices took place. With the attempt of aiding casualties, Jennifer Madai Moreno was Killed in Action from an Improvised Explosive Device in the Zhari District on Sunday, October 6, 2013. Three other service members were also killed in the attack— Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, Sgt. Joseph M. Peters, and Pfc. Cody J. Patterson. 

1st Lt Moreno was posthumously promoted to Captain and received the following awards for her bravery, sacrifice, and service:  
2009: 

National Defense Service Medal 

Airborne Parachutist Badge 

Army Service Ribbon 
2013: 

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal 

Bronze Star Medal  

Purple Heart  

Meritorious Service Medal  

Afghanistan Campaign Medal 

NATO Non-Art 5 ISAF Medal  

Combat Action Badge  

In addition to reviewing these awards, two establishments were named after her in honor of her death on the battlefield: The Fort Sam Houston Primary Care Clinic was renamed the CPT Jennifer M. Moreno Primary Care Clinic on July 24, 2015. Recently on March 15, 2022, the VA San Diego Healthcare System was renamed to the Jennifer Moreno Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center. 

Captain Moreno understood the risks and the danger involved and sacrificed her life to provide evacuation and medical attention for other soldiers involved in the incident that took her life. She is buried at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.  

This biography was researched and written by students as part of the Digital Veterans Legacy Project at Loyola Marymount University, funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Cemetery Administration.  

Grave Marker with Christmas Wreath and Poinsettia Plant

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Thank you, Jennifer, for your bravery and sacrifice.

On March 14, 2022, President Biden signed a bill to change the name of a VA medical center in San Diego to the Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in her honor. Moreno was an #Army nurse killed during a Oct. 6, 2013, special operations raid in Afghanistan.

One of the kindest souls. She cared for all.

JENNIFER MADAI MORENO

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