Obama to Name Eric Fanning as First Openly Gay Service Secretary to Lead the Army

Eric Fanning may very soon make history.

In yet another LGBT-supportive move by the Obama administration, Mr. Fanning has been nominated by the President to become the first openly gay service secretary for the United States Army. Fanning has “been a specialist on defense and national security issues for more than 25 years in Congress and the Pentagon” according to a report in The Washington Post.

“Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role…I look forward to working with Eric to keep our Army the very best in the world,” President Obama said in a statement.

The report goes on to highlight the significance of Fanning’s role given the current fiscal and physical state of the Army:

“Fanning would play a key role in helping the Army, which has struggled to field new combat systems amid the strain of fighting two wars, to upgrade aging tanks, armored personnel carriers and helicopters. Since 2000, the Army has been forced to cancel virtually all of its major new weapons programs because they ran over budget or didn’t perform as expected.”

Fanning has served as the acting undersecretary of the Army since June of this year. He will still need to be confirmed by the Senate.