Groundbreaking mother and Air Force officer killed in Afghan suicide attack

Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen, an openly lesbian officer – who spent years trying to repeal the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy – was leading a security patrol near Bagram Air Base about 25 miles north of Kabul when a suicide bomber drove a motorcycle into their group and detonated an explosive vest. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. forces of 2015, killing six Americans and wounding three more.

Maj. Vorderbruggen was 36 years old and part of the USAF’s Office of Special Investigations, also known as OSI. She is not only believed to be the first openly lesbian active duty service member to die in combat, but she is also the first openly gay USAF member to do so and the first female OSI agent killed while executing their duties.

Vorderbruggen leaves behind a wife, Heather, and a young son, Jacob.

Photo via: Military Partners & Families Coalition
Story via: SF Chronicle