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

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

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 as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

who was killed in action in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

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

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Early life and education

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

Career

Jacobson enlisted in 2003 and was trained in Texas where she completed training in 2004 and was then posted to 17th Security Forces Squadron also based in Texas, her last posting was to Camp Bucca, Iraq in early 2005. 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 military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

near the Iraqi town of

Safwan Safwan may refer to: Places * Safwan, Iraq, a town in southeastern Iraq * Safwan Hill, highest terrain feature in the region Institutions * Safwan SC, a football club based in Safwan, Iraq People Given name * Safouane Attaf, Moroccan judoka (b ...

. The explosion killed her and

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Steve Morin Jr., 34 years old, from

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

. 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 (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and had deployed to Iraq as part of the 586th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. Jacobson had been in the Air Force for two years and had been 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. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2020 ...

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 23 miles (37 km) from the Iraqi border, and roughly 15 km west of Al Jahra. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and during Operation Souther ...

running from entry control point "Echo 4" to a South Korean air force compound was renamed Jacobson Avenue in her honor.

renamed the base main gate ''Jacobson Gate'' The Eagle Chapter, 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 coll ...

to honor the memory of Jacobson. At Lackland Air Force Base there is the Jacobson Training Facility for Security Force Members and the Library in the facility has numerous mementos from Jacobson. The museum on the base also holds her in an honor position. The Travis AFB First Term Airman's Center is named after Jacobson.

Assignments

# 2003 – 2004, 17th Training Wing,

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

Camp Bucca Camp Bucca ( ar, سجن بوكا, Sijn Būkā) 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 Mi ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

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