30 Days of Pride!

June 20 : Lt Josh Seefried and Ty Walrod

Lt Josh Seefried graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2009 in a
top cadet leadership position.  As a 1st Lt seeking to educate the public about the plight of gay and lesbian service members, he joined with Ty Walrod, a civilian, to  launch OutServe, an association of LGBT actively serving military personnel.  The organization originated with  asecret Facebook group to connect active duty gay and lesbian service members online. Using the pseudonym J.D. Smith,  he and others expressed what it was like to be gay and in the military, catching the attention of the media and key decision makers and becoming a part of the movement to repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). 
 
On September 20, 2012, the day that DADT was finally repealed, Seefried outed himself on national TV even as the first issue of OutServe Magazine, a bimonthly publication highlightting LGBT military service contributions landed on newstands across the country profiling 99 of his colleagues who were doing the same.  Sefriend also published “Our Time” a book highlighting the sacrifices made Shortly thereafter, Seefried released "Our Time," a book of essays by the LGBT men and women who served under DADT.
Tyler Walrod, is the civilian co-founder of OutServe. The only non-military member of the 4,300-large group, Walrod co-founded and helped to build 
OutServe into a national organization supporting LGBT equality in the US military through his vast expertise and understanding of the power of technology, the media, and social networking.  He  remains on the board of directors and is also co-founder of Bright Funds, a web service that assists individuals in making non-profit donations.

Lt Josh Seefried graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2009 in a top cadet leadership position.  As a 1st Lt seeking to educate the public about the plight of gay and lesbian service members, he joined with Ty Walrod, a civilian, to launch OutServe, an association of LGBT actively serving military personnel.  The organization originated with a secret Facebook group to connect active duty gay and lesbian service members online. Using the pseudonym J.D. Smith,  he and others expressed what it was like to be gay in the military, catching the attention of the media and key decision makers and becoming a part of the movement to repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). 

On September 20, 2011, the day that DADT was finally repealed, Seefried outed himself on national TV even as the first issue of OutServe Magazine, a bimonthly publication highlightting LGBT military service contributions landed on newstands across the country profiling 99 of his colleagues who were doing the same.  Seefriend also published “Our Time” a book of essays by LGBT men and women who served under DADT.

Ty Walrod, is the civilian co-founder of OutServe. The only non-military member of the 5,700-large group, Walrod co-founded and helped to build OutServe into a national organization supporting LGBT equality in the US military through his vast expertise and understanding of the power of technology, the media, and social networking.  He  remains on the board of directors and is also co-founder of Bright Funds, a web service that assists individuals in making non-profit donations.

For more information on OutServe, click here.  For OutServe Magazine, click here.  

 


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