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I didn’t see anyone else like me in that large building,” Fanning said. “I thought about my own experience when I first went to the Pentagon.
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In an interview Friday, the Army secretary said he recognizes the impact he can have. People who know Fanning said he has reluctantly accepted the mantle of gay symbol, despite wanting to be judged on his resume.
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Some observers have said that’s how he got his current job.Īs Army secretary, Fanning oversees policy for 500,000 active-duty soldiers and 550,000 Army reservists and National Guard troops, plus civilian workers. He also was chief of staff to Defense Secretary Ash Carter, leading Carter’s transition team. One of the footnotes to his career is that he has served in top civilian positions for three military branches - Navy, Air Force and now Army.
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Quickly, he embarked on a civilian career in government, with entry- and mid-level jobs on the House Armed Services Committee staff, the White House and that first Pentagon position.Īfter a detour into TV news and public relations, Fanning went back to government work.
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Instead, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1990 with a degree in history. He has said that despite having two uncles who went to the West Point Army academy, he didn’t see a path for himself there as an openly gay man. To have someone who is that high-ranking, it normalizes it,” said Hotaling, who is married to an active-duty Navy officer.įanning never served in uniform. They are American values,” he said during the Spirit of Stonewall rally, which honored gay New Yorkers who fought police harassment in 1969.Īs a symbol, having an openly gay military leader means something, said George Hotaling, 29, a gay former Army officer who volunteered at the rally. But equality and inclusivity are not experiments. “Today, when our critics say that the military is not a place for social experimentation, they may be right. On Friday evening, Fanning addressed the accusations of social engineering. In 2013, the Pentagon began the process of opening all combat jobs to women - something that culminated last year with the first women to earn Army Ranger status.Īnd last month, Defense Secretary Ash Carter declared an immediate end to rules that bar openly transgender troops. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” ended in September 2011, after turbulent debate in Congress. military and the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.”Īmerica’s military has undergone a whirlwind of social policy change in the past five years under the Obama administration - moves that some conservatives have decried as social engineering. “With their actions, they sent a clear message to our country: That it’s possible to take deep pride in being part of two great families, the U.S. “For many in our military, Pride in San Diego has special meaning,” Fanning told an audience during a rally Friday evening at Balboa Park.