Jason Livingston

Jason Livingston enlisted in the United States Army in 2004 as a 19D Cavalry Scout and completed One Station Unit Training (OSUT) at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Following graduation, he was assigned to 8-10 CAV, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and deployed to Baghdad, Iraq from 2005 to 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After redeployment, Jason transitioned to Fort Knox where he served as an instructor with 3/81 Armor, 194th Training Brigade, teaching Land Navigation to basic training soldiers. In 2008, he reenlisted and was stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany with 1-91 CAV, 173rd Airborne Brigade. He deployed once again, this time to Logar Province, Afghanistan in 2010 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

On October 1, 2010, while at a Joint Combat Outpost, Jason sustained life-altering injuries when his position came under heavy indirect enemy mortar fire. Four mortar rounds detonated near him, and shrapnel struck his neck at the base of his skull. He was medically evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and later transferred to the Warrior Transition Unit at Charlie Company, where he began the long road to recovery.

Despite his injuries, Jason reenlisted for a third time and was assigned to 6-8 CAV, 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. Unfortunately, during pre-deployment training, his prior wounds were aggravated, resulting in further injury. Jason was medically retired from the U.S. Army in January 2014 with the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6) after nearly a decade of distinguished service.