Elizabeth Nicole "Liz" Jacobson (March 26, 1984September 28, 2005) was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

who was killed in action in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

in 2005. A member of the U.S. Air Force Security Forces, she was the first female U.S. airman killed in the line of duty in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

and the first Air Force Security Forces member killed in conflict since the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Early life and education

Jacobson was born and raised in Florida. She resided in the Riviera Beach area and attended Palm Beach Gardens and Gold Coast high schools.

Career

Jacobson enlisted in 2003, and completed basic military and security forces training in Texas in 2004. On September 28, 2005, while Jacobson was guarding a convoy originating from Camp Bucca, Iraq, the vehicle she was riding in was hit by an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

near the Iraqi town of Safwan. The explosion killed her and

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Steve Morin Jr., 34 years old, from

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

. A third soldier who was manning the vehicle's turret weapon was injured but survived the attack. At the time of her death, she was assigned to the 17th Security Forces Squadron at

Goodfellow Air Force Base Goodfellow Air Force Base is a nonflying United States Air Force base located in San Angelo, Texas, United States. As part of Air Education and Training Command, Goodfellow's main mission is cryptologic and intelligence training for the Air Forc ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and deployed to Iraq as part of the 586th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. Jacobson had been in the Air Force for two years and was deployed to Iraq for more than three months. Jacobson is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale and 36 miles north of Miami. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part ...

Legacy

The U.S. Air Force has established the ''Elizabeth N. Jacobson Award for Expeditionary Excellence'' which is given to airmen for outstanding performance during a deployment. A street on

Ali Al Salem Air Base Ali Al Salem Air Base is a military air base situated in Kuwait, approximately from the Iraqi border, and roughly west of Al Jahra. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and hosted the Royal Air Force (RAF), United States Air For ...

running from entry control point "Echo 4" to the

Republic of Korea Air Force The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the Air force, aerial and Space force, space warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of National Defense (South K ...

(South Korean Air Force) compound was renamed "Jacobson Avenue" in her honor.

renamed the base main gate ''Jacobson Gate.'' The Eagle Chapter of the Air Force Security Police Association created a

challenge coin A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion, bearing an organization's insignia or emblem and carried by the organization's members. Traditionally, they might be given to prove membership when asked and to enhance morale. They are also colle ...

to honor Jacobson. At

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of ...

, there is the Jacobson Training Complex for Security Forces members. The library located inside the facility has numerous mementos from Jacobson. The base museum also holds her in a position of honor. The

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 Kilometre, km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, California, Fairfield, i ...

First Term Airman's Center is named after Jacobson.

Assignments

# 2003 – 2004,

17th Training Wing The 17th Training Wing (17 TRW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Second Air Force. It is stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. The wing is also the host unit at Goodfellow. It was ac ...

# 2004 – 2005, 17th Security Forces Squadron, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas # 2005 – 2005,

Camp Bucca Camp Bucca () was a forward operating base that housed a theater internment facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. After being taken over by the U.S. military (800th Military Police Brigade) in April ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Awards and decorations

References

External links

*
Elizabeth Nicole Jacobson
at ''TogetherWeServed'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Elizabeth 1984 births 2005 deaths Jewish American military personnel American military personnel killed in the Iraq War United States Air Force personnel of the Iraq War Deaths by improvised explosive device in Iraq Military personnel from Florida People from Orlando, Florida United States Air Force airmen Women in the Iraq War Female United States Air Force personnel