Elizabeth Nicole "Liz" Jacobson (March 26, 1984September 28, 2005) was a United States Air Force airman who was killed in action in the Iraq War in 2005. A member of the

U.S. Air Force Security Forces The United States Air Force Security Forces (SF) are the ground combat force and military police service of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. USAF Security Forces (SF) were formerly known as Military Police (MP), Air Police (AP), and Sec ...

, 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.

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

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 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 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 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 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 a ...

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