Cracking a slight smile only after finishing her remarks, a former Marine from San Diego completed her mission Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention: Attacking Donald Trump.

Ex-Marine Capt. Kristen Kavanaugh on her homepage. Photo via kristenkavanaugh.com
Ex-Marine Capt. Kristen Kavanaugh on her homepage. Photo via kristenkavanaugh.com

“The military is defined by discipline. Leadership. Integrity,” Kristen Kavanaugh said in a 4-minute talk just before former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. “Those are the qualities that drew me to serve. And those are the very qualities that Donald Trump lacks.”

Previously known for her efforts to overturn the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, the City Heights resident and Iraq War veteran ticked off what she called Trump’s promises to expand torture, kill civilians and “force the military to commit war crimes.”

When the GOP nominee makes such assertions, she said, “he’s defying the values that every service member is taught on Day 1. He’s defying the values we risk our lives to defend.”

After making her endorsement (“I trust Hillary Clinton to be commander-in-chief”), the ex-Marine captain concluded with: “This election isn’t just about Donald Trump’s judgment. It’s about our own. Our troops, our nation, our world cannot afford for us to get this wrong.”

Delegates paid rapt attention as she spoke about 5:45 p.m. Pacific, her speech shown on C-SPAN.

The U.S. Naval Academy graduate in her mid-30s is executive director of the Military Acceptance Project and as member of the Truman National Security Project’s Defense Council.

In 2014, The San Diego Union-Tribune profiled Kavanaugh during that spring’s San Diego Women’s Week.

The story told of her time at the Naval Academy in Maryland:

“As a closeted lesbian … she lied to protect her secret through four years at Annapolis and five years in the Marine Corps as a budget officer,” the U-T said. “Unable to serve in silence any longer, she left the service in 2007. Today, the married City Heights resident heads up the Military Acceptance Project, a San Diego nonprofit that promotes inclusiveness for military personnel who feel isolated from their peers for reasons of sexuality, ethnicity, race, religion or personal trauma.”

Kavanaugh describes herself on Twitter as an “aspiring politician.”

Current office-holders including Assembly Speaker Emeritus Toni Atkins saluted Kavanaugh and her remarks.