Navy Lieutenant Florence Choe, 35, from El Cajon, Calif., was assigned to Camp Shaheen, Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan, a medical station that served US troops as well as Afghan troops and civilians. She was mentoring the Afghan Army in medical administration. Lt Choe died March 27, 2009, when she and another Naval Officer were jogging along a well-worn path on the outskirts of Forward Operating Base Shaheen in Afghanistan and an Afghan Army soldier raised his military-issued weapon and fatally shot the two officers.

Lt. Choe attended high school in the San Diego suburb of Spring Valley. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology (1997) at UC San Diego and a master’s degree in public health and healthcare administration (2001) at San Diego State University. Lt Choe, whose father served in the Navy, went to a Navy recruiter just days at the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and was commissioned five months later.

She was an avid snowboarder and runner.

Lt Choe is survived by her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Chong “Jay” Choe, whom she met while working at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md, and her daughter, Kristin.