President Obama names first openly gay military secretary

President Barack Obama is set to nominate Eric K Fanning as secretary for the Army, a move which will make him the first openly gay civilian in history to take charge of a U.S. military service (Fanning, not Obama, obviously).

Fanning, 47, is no stranger to the Pentagon after being named undersecretary for the Army earlier this year.

In a statement, the POTUS said: “Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role. I am grateful for his commitment to our men and women in uniform, and I am confident he will help lead America’s soldiers with distinction.”

Predictably, critics have claimed the move is nothing more than a desperate attempt at political correctness, but Fanning’s CV is impressive, spanning a career in both public service and TV journalism.

He was the undersecretary of the Navy from 2009 and acting secretary of the Air Force in 2013, then in March of this year he was upped to chief of staff for Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

It is now four years since the Pentagon officially scrapped the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that barred open LGBTs from serving in the military.