Moreno, Jennifer Madai

Jennifer Madai Moreno was born in San Diego, California, and commissioned as a nurse in the U.S. Army after graduating from the University of San Francisco in 2008. She was assigned to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and served as a member of a Cultural Support Team (CST), a specialized unit that worked alongside Army Special Operations Forces to engage with Afghan women and children during missions.

On the night of October 5-6, 2013, CPT Moreno was part of a joint U.S. Special Operations and Afghan National Army mission targeting a suspected Taliban bomb-maker in Zhari District, Kandahar Province. As the assault force approached the compound, multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were triggered. According to military reports, Moreno and three other U.S. Special Operations soldiers were killed by a secondary device while moving to assist casualties from the initial blasts.

Her death occurred during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By late 2013, the mission was in a period of transition, with U.S. forces drawing down and shifting to a train-and-advise role ahead of the formal conclusion of combat operations in December 2014. Zhari District, a known Taliban stronghold, remained a high-threat area.

Moreno was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart. Her death was reported by major news outlets, and a memorial service was held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The U.S. Army named an award for excellence in nursing in her honor.

In 2016, the U.S. Army dedicated the Captain Jennifer M. Moreno Primary Care Clinic at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. She is remembered as one of the first Cultural Support Team members killed in action, highlighting the evolving roles of women in direct combat zones during the conflict.

Captain Jennifer Moreno was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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