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Operation Carstensz Pyramid 2017
Rank & Branch
USMC SGT. Retired
Mountain & Location
Carstensz Pyramid, Puncak Jaya, Indonesia
Summit Date
July 25, 2017
Kirstie Ennis joined the Marine Corps at 17 years old in Pensacola, Florida. Over the six years she served, she performed duties as a helicopter door gunner and airframes mechanic on the CH-53 platforms.
On June 23, 2012, during her last deployment to Afghanistan, her helicopter went down while performing combat resupplies to FOB Now Zad. As a result of the crash she sustained various injuries that include: an above the knee amputation on her left leg (most recent revision on December 23, 2015 from below-knee to above-knee), full thickness facial trauma, traumatic brain injury, cervical and lumbar.
She medically retired out of the Marine Corps as a Sergeant in May 2014. She has earned her Masters in Psychology, and is in her last semester for her Masters in Business Administration.
On July 25th, 2017 at 3:00 PM WIT, after a 12 hour summit push, Kirstie Ennis became the first female US veteran above the knee amputee to summit Carstensz Pyramid.
— JJ Sailer, Executive Director, THE HEROES PROJECT
From hospital bed to summit. We take injured U.S. military veterans from recovery to the mountain — and honor every step between.
