Sgt. Stephanie Vazquez enlisted in the Army in October 2005. A single mother, Stephanie joined the service hoping to provide and support her small family. She quickly became dedicated to the military and showed great promise.

Stephanie was handpicked by the Commander and Sergeant Major of the Battalion to be the NCOIC of the BN FET (Female Engagement Team). She deployed overseas to attend the first Female Engagement Team school in Bagram, Afghanistan.

Three weeks before her team would be returning to the US, she was on a routine patrol when the unit started taking small arms fire, RPGs, and mortar rounds. Stephanie sustained critical injuries that she is still dealing with to this day.

Once back stateside, she started down her long road to recovery. She underwent 18 surgeries on her lower left leg as well as three spinal cord surgeries. Unfortunately, the surgeries were unsuccessful, and the decision was made to amputate the limb.

Since the loss of her leg, she has relearned how to participate in her favorite extracurricular activities such as hiking, walking, horseback riding, snowboarding, and her new love of playing sled hockey with the Nashville Predator Sled Hockey team.