When Jason Pacheco was growing up as the middle child of 6 kids, he loved trying every sport he could find. He first tried hunting and shooting when he was 12 years old, and it quickly became his favorite.

“I learned that I had a gift when it came to shooting and hunting, and it soon became one of my favorite activities to do with my friends and family." After graduation, he joined the Marine Corps with his eyes set on the infantry.

Pacheco joined the Scout Sniper Platoon and deployed to Southeast Asia to train alongside foreign militaries in the jungles. In between training exercises, he prepared for and competed to earn a spot at Advanced Urban Sniper School. “I graduated top of my class and was the High Shooter. I deployed to Afghanistan in May of 2010 as a Corporal and a Scout Sniper Team Leader.”

Just three months after arriving in Afghanistan, Pacheco was pinned down in a four-hour firefight with Taliban soldiers. Pacheco headed out to conduct a battle damage assessment when he was blindsided by an improvised explosive device. “I stepped on an IED that resulted in a traumatic brain injury, below the knee leg amputation, a right femur fracture, left pinky amputation, blown eardrums and shrapnel to my hands, arms, neck, torso and lower extremities.”

Pacheco was sent to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego where he endured grueling physical therapy. “It took me 3 months to learn to walk and 6 months to run. In April of 2011 just months after my injuries, I returned to 2nd Battalion 4th Marines to be back with my fellow Marines. I made a promise to my Marines that I would be back by their side.” Pacheco became one the first three Marine Corps amputees to return to a combat zone on full duty. He returned stateside a year later in April 2012 to become a sniper instructor, and medically retired in October 2019.