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Openly gay man nominated by Obama to be US Secretary of the Army
President Barack Obama made history on Friday (18 January) by nominating an openly gay man to be the next US Secretary of the Navy.
Eric Fanning, 47, has had Defense Department jobs spanning several military branches. He has served as Air Force under secretary, deputy under secretary of the Navy and deputy chief management officer of the Navy.
He most recently been acting under secretary of the Army and is a close civilian adviser to Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter.
Fanning would be the first openly gay head of any service in the military if he is confirmed by the US Senate. He is already the highest ranking openly gay member of the Department of Defense.
‘Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role,’ Obama said in a statement. ‘I look forward to working with Eric to keep our Army the very best in the world.’
OutServe-SLDN, a network of LGBTI military personnel, praised Obama for the appointment of Fanning.
‘Having an openly gay individual in high level positions within the Department of Defense helps to set the tone at the top and provides an opportunity to bring better understanding about both the shared and the unique needs of LGBT individuals in the military and their families,’ said
OutServe-SLDN Interim Executive Director Matt Thorn.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said Fanning’s nomination ‘is a sign of hope and a demonstration of continued progress toward fairness and equality in our nation’s armed forces.’
Fanning’s appointment comes four years after the end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the policy that prevented gay and lesbian service members from being open about their sexual orientation. but because he is a civilian, Fanning was never subject to the policy.
The post Openly gay man nominated by Obama to be US Secretary of the Army appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
www.gaystarnews.com/article/openly-gay-man-nominated-by-obama-to-be-us-secretary-of-the-army/
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