BRIGADIER GENERAL TAMMY S. SMITH, a 26-year veteran of the Army became the first out Lesbian officer of flag rank in the United States military on this date.

At her Arlington National Cemetery ceremony, her star was affixed to her uniform by her wife, and co-founder of the Miitary Partners and Families Coalition, TRACEY HEPNER. As a colonel, General Smith was deployed in Afghanistan from December 2010 to October 2011 as the chief of Army Reserve Affairs. She served in Washington D.C. as the deputy chief of the Army Reserve. As of May 2017 she serves as Commandant of Cadets, U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.