CPT Cullen was killed during a training mission aboard a UH-60 Black Hawk near Kandahar in Afghanistan. The NATO military coalition said in a statement that initial reports showed no enemy activity in the area at the time. The crash occurred during a heavy rainstorm in Daman district.

She was a Graduate of Liberty High School in 2003. At West Point, she studied law, and was a member of the Judo team. She was previously stationed at Fort Wainwright in Alaska and had one other deployment to Pakistan on humanitarian mission. She married her husband (a former Black Hawk pilot) on November 17, 2012, and was deployed to Afghanistan in January of this year. Her husband deployed with a private contracting company in February to Afghanistan. He accompanied her body back to Dover AFB.

Her mother remembers her as an adventurous, fun loving young woman with a smile and a laugh that would light up a room. She loved to fly and proudly served her country.

She is survived by her husband, parents, brother, sister (a Major, US Army), her brother-in-law, and her nieces.

Proceeds from the CPT Sara M. Cullen bracelet will be donated to the SARAndipity Fund in her memory.