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Out Army veteran named chair of West Point Board of Visitors

Out Army veteran named chair of West Point Board of Visitors
Brenda Sue Fulton (standing, center) and Penny Gneslin, were the first same-sex couple to marry in the U.S. Military Academy Cadet Chapel. Fulton has been named chair of the West Point Board of Visitors.
Brenda Sue Fulton (standing, center) and Penny Gneslin, were the first same-sex couple to marry in the U.S. Military Academy Cadet Chapel in 2012. Fulton has been named chair of the West Point Board of Visitors. Jeff Sheng, via Outserve

WEST POINT, N.Y. — A 1980 West Point graduate active in the fight for gay rights in the military has been named chairwoman of the board that reviews programs at the U.S. Military Academy.

Brenda Sue Fulton was named chairwoman of the Board of Visitors on Monday at a meeting of the advisory board.

Brenda Sue Fulton
Brenda Sue Fulton

Fulton was part of the first West Point class to admit women. She was commissioned in the U.S. Army, served as a platoon leader and company commander in Germany, and was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain.

She was a founder of Knights Out, a founding board member of OutServe, and she currently heads SPARTA, an LGBT military organization.

Fulton and Penelope Gnesin were the first same-sex couple to exchange vows at West Point’s landmark Cadet Chapel in 2012.

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In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Fulton to the West Point Board of Visitors, which made her the first openly gay person to serve there.

The board advises the President on matters relating to West Point, and is comprised of nine members of Congress and six presidential appointees.

Associated Press contributed to this report.
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