Josh Seefried (born February 6, 1986) is an
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, ...
activist, a former
captain in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
, and a former co-chairman on the Board of Directors of ''OutServe-SLDN,'' an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the U.S. Military. A graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2009, Josh was formerly known by his
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
JD Smith during his campaign to end the discrimination against lesbians, gays and bisexuals serving openly in the
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...
.
Using social networking tools such as
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
, Seefried organized
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
active-duty military personnel into an underground association ''
OutServe''.
To preclude
outing himself as gay while serving on active duty in the Air Force, a violation of the then-
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on Decemb ...
policy for which he could have been prosecuted and discharged, he assumed the leadership role and interacted with the media and officials in the
Pentagon and the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
using only his pseudonym.
He has appeared on CNN, HLN, and MSNBC in shadow; additionally, his comments continue to be regularly sought after by the media as a representative of lesbian, gay, and bisexual actively-serving military members. He was also an invited guest to the presidential signing of the legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
On October 27, 2012, the two organizations OutServe and SLDN merged. Seefried was voted co-chair of the board of directors, making him the youngest at 26 to co-chair any major LGBT organization. Seefried later resigned from the Board of Directors and left OutServe-SLDN.
Book: ''Our Time''
Shortly following the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", Josh worked with several LGBT military men and women to compile a book, ''Our Time: Breaking the Silence of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"'', .
References
8.
Podcast: Veteran, employee, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal advocate
External links
Personal website and blogOutServe-SLDN*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Seefried, Josh
1986 births
Living people
American LGBT military personnel
American LGBT rights activists
United States Air Force officers
Don't ask, don't tell
LGBT people from Colorado