Eric Fanning U.S. Army Secretary

The Senate has confirmed Eric Fanning as Secretary of the U.S. Army. Fanning becomes the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military service & is now the highest openly LGBT appointed official in the Obama administration. Fanning was nominated by President Obama last September & the nomination was reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee in March but Fanning’s nomination had been blocked by Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) over his unrelated concern regarding potential transfer of Guantanamo detainees. Matt Thorn Executive Director, OutServe SLDN stated, “Eric’s sexual orientation has absolutely no bearing on his ability to do this job; nor was it the reason for his nomination. But this milestone of having an openly gay individual in this high level position within the Department of Defense will help to continue to set a tone of understanding & respect for the LGBT community throughout the armed services. Eric knows every military service, the bureaucracy of the Pentagon & Capitol Hill inside & out & everyone Democrats & Republicans agrees that he will undoubtedly serve this post with honor, as he has done in all of his previous positions. As an individual who is deeply respected by both uniformed and civilian Department of Defense personnel we are thrilled that he has finally been confirmed.” Fanning’s nomination comes just 5 years after the historic end of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) law that prohibited qualified gay & lesbian Americans from serving in the U.S. armed forces.
For More Info: outserve-sldn.org
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