A native of Morton, Washington, Jonathan Hopkins graduated fourth in his class at West Point with a BS in International Relations. In 2003, he led his Italy-based platoon on a parachute jump into Northern Iraq during the initial invasion, after which his unit spent one year securing the city of Kirkuk, Iraq. Jonathan has also deployed to Zabul Province, Afghanistan, and Diyala Province, Iraq, and commanded two different Alaska-based companies before leaving the Army in August of 2010. His awards include three Bronze Stars, including one for Valor. Jonathan currently is pursuing a Masters in National Security Policy at Georgetown’s SSP Program, while also working as a consultant at Caerus Associates. Led by counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen, Caerus focuses on sustainable solutions to conflict, based upon understanding populations and increasing the number of stakeholders in a peaceful and stable society. Jonathan also serves on the board of directors and as a spokesperson for OutServe, a 4000-member non-profit dedicated to supporting the interests of LGBT servicemembers in the US military. In that role, he has appeared multiple times on MSNBC and CNN, and written for the New York Times At War blog discussing the impacts of military policies on LGBT personnel.