A pivotal advocate for ending the military's policy known as "don't ask, don't tell" was killed in action Monday when a motorcycle bomb detonated in Bagram, Afghanistan, reports CNN.
Air Force Maj. Adrianna Vorderbruggen was one of six American service members killed in Monday's suicide attack. CNN described Vorderbruggen as a "pioneer in the protest against the military's former [DADT] policy," noting that she was one of the first service members to marry her same-sex partner after the ban was lifted in 2011. Vorderbruggen is survived by her wife, Heather, and the couple's son, Jacob.
LGBT service member group Military Partners and Family Coalition confirmed Vorderbruggen's death with a memorial post on Facebook Tuesday morning, then issued a more complete statement in a Facebook note this afternoon.
The news was confirmed the same day that President Obama reflected on the five-year anniversary of DADT's demise, saying in a Facebook post that he "couldn't be prouder" of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans "in uniform who make our military even stronger."