The San Diego VA Medical center will officially be renamed after U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer Moreno, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013.
President Joe Biden signed a bill on March 14 authorizing the renaming of the San Diego VA Medical Center after U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer Moreno.
A native of San Diego, Capt. Moreno was killed on Oct. 5, 2013 while trying to save fellow soldiers during a night raid on a bomb-making compound in Afghanistan. When U.S. forces entered the compound, Afghani insurgents detonated a series of improvised explosive devices, killing four Army Rangers and wounding 30.
Capt. Moreno immediately moved to perform life-saving measures for her fellow soldiers but was killed by a separate explosive device in the process.
In 2020, a panel composed of San Diego veterans, VSOs, and other stakeholders was created to determine a new name for San Diego VA Medical Center, and Capt. Moreno was ultimately chosen for the honor.
In doing so, the San Diego VA Medical Center will become the first VA center to be named after a women veteran of color.
The bill authorizing the new designation was introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., and also includes provisions for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to name a secondary facility at the San Diego VA campus after U.S. Navy Capt. Kathleen M. Bruyere.
Capt. Bruyere was instrumental in a 1978 decision to overturn the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, opening up thousands of combat jobs to women serving in the U.S. Navy, including the ability to command combat ships.
After her military career, Capt. Bruyere moved to San Diego County where she continued to serve fellow veterans in the area until her passing in 2020 at the age of 76.
U.S. Navy Capt. Kathleen M. Bruyere
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.