MEDIA ADVISORY
San Diego High School Honors Alum Killed in Combat with Memorial, Documentary Screening and Mentorship Opportunities
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
San Diego High School students will view the documentary, “Ultimate Sacrifices: CPT. Jennifer Moreno,” exactly ten years after the 2006 San Diego High School graduate died during combat operations in Afghanistan. During a special program honoring CPT. Moreno’s life, students will engage in a panel discussion & lunch, and participate in a memorial tribute.
BACKGROUND: CPT. Jennifer Moreno grew up in Logan Heights and graduated as a top marksman and leader in the JROTC Program at San Diego High in 2006. CPT. Moreno attended University of San Francisco on a ROTC scholarship and earned a nursing degree. After graduation, CPT. Moreno decided to serve as a nurse in the U.S. Army. She completed the Army Airborne training in 2009 and while stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, she volunteered to serve as a Cultural Support Team (CST) member attached to the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment.
CPT. Moreno, alongside the members of the female led Cultural Support Team, was an essential mediator for the Special Operations unit. The main task of the unit was to help soldiers in the front lines to communicate and mediate with Afghani women, whose interactions with men could be seen as inappropriate in their culture. Critically, the Cultural Support Team put women on the front lines during a time when they were still barred from full-time combat jobs in the military.
On October 5, 2013 during a Special Operations raid in Zhari District (Afghanistan), a suicide bomber initiated an ambush in the compound the Army team was entering. During the 12 additional blasts that injured 30 rangers and killed three, CPT. Moreno chose to not follow stand-by procedures in order to give essential medical assistance to a fellow soldier trapped nearby, which resulted in the triggering of another IED that led to her death at the age of 25.
AllTru is honoring CPT. Moreno’s life through a special presentation of the documentary, “Ultimate Sacrifices: CPT. Jennifer Moreno,” followed by a panel discussion and lunch social with AllTru role models and teammates of CPT. Moreno..
AllTru panelists are: Alex Horton, Army, Intelligence Officer, Cultural Support Team Leader. George Fraser, Combat-hardened Green Beret & Four-time Purple Heart Recipient. Catherine Harris, Highly-decorated Senior Enlisted Leader, Cultural Support Team Leader. Maria Maio, Army Logistics Officer, Cultural Support Team Leader. Jeff Dawson, Explosive Ordnance Technician on target October 5th, Silver Star Recipient.
AllTru represents a community of role models, notably women combat veterans who served alongside special operations forces.
The CST Community understands the value of equal access to opportunity, both from the lens of building high-performing teams and from the lens of promoting stability and prosperity. In an effort to honor the legacy of their fallen sisters, AllTru seeks to ensure all have access to opportunity.
This event is for professional journalists. Please confirm attendance in advance:
MEDIA PARKING: 1405 Park Blvd., Lot C, north of I-5 on-ramp.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Murad, Public Information Coordinator, San Diego Unified School District, 619-925-4790, mmurad@sandi.net
###
Posts
