Lauren Grigsby | PART 1 | Supplying the Fight

Raised in a military family rooted in Marine Corps traditions, Lauren knew military service was her future. As a cadet at the legendary Corps of Cadets, at Texas A&M, she honed her talent for military rigors and commissioned as a Marine Corps officer in 2001. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11 she and her fellow committed officers knew war was in their future, but they didn't know when or for how long.

As a logistical officer she brought supplies to the fight. In Al-Taqaddum Air Base in 2003, the USMC setup shop and acted as the distribution center for military supply in Iraq. "They would checkin with me and then I would send it out," she said. The base was centered between Ramadi and Fallujah, two of the most contentious cities with bloody, hard-fought battles for the Corps. Lauren would watch from the bunkers overlooking Fallujah in the distance, and watch as the battle raged.

"We would wonder if they had everything they needed," she added. "But they were short on ammo and water. And we couldn't reach them."

In Part 2, Lauren returns to Iraq and finds a renewed purpose on the home front after her military service.