Lt. Col. David E. Cabrera

Lieutenant Colonel David E. Cabrera, MSC, U.S. Army On Saturday, October 29, 2011, Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) David E. Cabrera, a licensed clinical social worker and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), was killed in action in Afghanistan. Dr. Cabrera was born in Boynton Beach, Florida, and later moved to Houston, Texas, where he graduated from Sam Houston High School in 1988. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology in 1992 from Texas A&M University in College Station, and was a lifelong Aggie fan. He earned a Master of Science degree in Social Work from the University of Texas, Arlington, and in 2006, he completed his Ph.D. in Social Work at the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. He joined the U.S. Army in January 1996 as a Medical Service Corps officer. After his initial training, he was immediately deployed in support of Operation Joint Endeavor/Joint Guard (Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia). He spent more than 15 years on active duty, with assignments in Wurzburg and Heidelberg, Germany; Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC; and twice at Fort Lewis, Washington, where his latter assignment was as the Brigade Behavioral Health Officer for the 3/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, managing the behavioral health and combat operational stress programs for more than 4,500 soldiers in six battalions and five separate companies. In June 2006, he was deployed with the 3/2 Stryker Brigade to northern Iraq for 5 months. In February, 2010, he joined the faculty of USU in Bethesda, Maryland - the nation's only federal health sciences university - as the Director of Social Work. He held an appointment as Assistant Professor in the USU Department of Family Medicine, where he saw patients, taught third- and fourth-year military medical students, conducted research in the fields of resilience, PTSD and post-traumatic growth, and avidly participated in a number of university field training exercises and activities. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on September 1, 2011, in a small ceremony at USU, surrounded by his family, friends, and close colleagues. He left the U.S. for deployment to Afghanistan on September 30. Just less than one month in-theater, he was killed in action on October 29 in Kabul as a result of a suicide bomb attack on the NATO convoy with which he was riding. Dr. Cabrera's humor, easy-going nature and infectious smile made him popular with family, friends, colleagues, medical students, and patients alike. His dedication to the troops he served throughout his career was evident in his caring and compassionate approach to his work. Dr. Cabrera's research interests also conveyed his commitment to improving the lives of service members, veterans and their families. He was an unstoppable adventurer who traveled the world with his family and friends, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Rainier and other mountain peaks. However, it was the ocean to which he was most drawn, and his love of the sea was evident to all who knew him. He was a truly loving and devoted husband and father, and is survived by his wife, August Cabrera, and sons Maxwell and Roanin Cabrera, of Maryland, son Corbin and daughter Gillian Cabrera, of Texas. He is also survived by his father Robert and step-mother Anita Cabrera, of Texas; sister Darcy Prosser of Florida; brother David Bean of Texas; brother Daniel Cabrera of Texas; brother Paul Hopkins of Washington; sister Renae Martinez of Texas; sister Diane Trifle of Texas; sister Angelina Day of Texas; brother Robert Rivera of Texas; brother Samuel Glosson of Texas; brother Robert Cabrera of Texas; sister Julie Heinze of Texas; brother Kevin Glosson of Texas; brother Michael Cabrera of Texas; mother-in-law Jan Spalding of Arizona; father-in-law and wife, Michael Wegener and Louise Farrar-Wegener of Oregon; and sister-in-law Asia Takeuchi of California. Visitation will be 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday, November 10, 2011, at Earthman Resthaven Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be held 11:11 a.m., Friday, Veteran's Day, November 11, 2011, at Spring Baptist Church, 1027 Spring Cypress, Spring, Texas. A Memorial Service was held at Grace Community Church on November 4, 2011, in Fulton, Maryland, and another will be held in early December in Bethesda, Maryland, at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.