Meet the Hight-Rankg Openly Gay Milary Official U.S. History - The Atlantic</tle><meta name="scriptn" ntent="The U.S. Senate nfirmed the nomatn of Eric Fanng to the top job."/><meta property="kx:tle" ntent="Meet the Hight-Rankg Openly Gay Milary Official U.S. History - The Atlantic"/><meta property="kx:scriptn" ntent="The U.S. Senate nfirmed the nomatn of Eric Fanng to the top job."/><lk rel="nonil" href="><lk rel="image_src" href="><meta name="thor" ntent="Mara Koren"/><lk rel="ia:markup_url" href="><meta property="article:publisher" ntent="><meta property="article:opn" ntent="false"/><meta property="article:ntent_tier" ntent="metered"/><meta property="article:tag" ntent="news"/><meta property="article:sectn" ntent="Polics"/><meta property="article:published_time" ntent="2016-05-18T16:35:30Z"/><meta property="article:modified_time" ntent="2016-05-18T16:35:30Z"/><meta name="robots" ntent="x, follow, max-image-preview:large"/><meta property="og:tle" ntent="Meet the Hight-Rankg Openly Gay Milary Official U.S. History"/><meta property="og:scriptn" ntent="The U.S. Senate nfirmed the nomatn of Eric Fanng to the top job."/><meta property="og:url" ntent="><meta property="og:type" ntent="article"/><meta property="og:image" ntent="><meta property="twter:rd" ntent="summary_large_image"/><lk rel="alternate" type="applitn/rss+xml" tle="The Atlantic" href="/feed/all/"/><lk rel="alternate" type="applitn/rss+xml" tle="Bt of The Atlantic" href="/feed/bt-of/"/><meta name="referrer" ntent="unsafe-url"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-pable" ntent="y"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-stat-bar-style" ntent="black"/><meta name="apple-mobile-web-app-tle" ntent="The Atlantic"/><meta name="keywords" ntent="Armed Servic Commtee, Senate Armed Servic, Fanng, Eric Fanng, Fanng’s nomatn, Mr. Fanng, U.S. Senate Armed, puty fense secretary, Army secretary, openly gay Pentagon" emID="#keywords"/><meta name="news_keywords" ntent="Armed Servic Commtee, Senate Armed Servic, Fanng, Eric Fanng, Fanng’s nomatn, Mr. Fanng, U.S. Senate Armed, puty fense secretary, Army secretary, openly gay Pentagon"/><meta name="" ntent="polics,news,news"/><meta name="" ntent="2016-05-18T16:35:30Z"/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><lk rel="preload" as="font" type="font/woff2" href=" crossorig=""/><script type="applitn/ld+json">{"@ntext":","@type":"NewsArticle","headle":"Meet the Hight-Rankg Openly Gay Milary Official U.S. History","alternativeHeadle":"The First Openly Gay Army Secretary U.S. History","scriptn":"The U.S. Senate nfirmed the nomatn of Eric Fanng to the top job.","url":","datePublished":"2016-05-18T16:35:30Z","dateModified":"2016-05-18T16:35:30Z","isAccsibleForFree":false,"hasPart":{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccsibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".article-ntent-body"},"publisher":{"@id":"},"maEntyOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"},"image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":720},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":405},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1080},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1080},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1200},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":900},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":1600},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":900},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":960},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":540},"url":"},{"@type":"ImageObject","width":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":540},"height":{"@type":"QuantativeValue","unCo":"E37","value":540},"url":"}],"thor":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mara Koren","sameAs":"}],"articleSectn":"Polics"}</script><lk rel="preload" as="image" href=" imageSrcSet=" 750w, 828w, 960w, 976w, 1952w" imageSiz="(m-width: 976px) 976px, 100vw"/><meta name="next-head-unt" ntent="60"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-g=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href=" data-n-p=""/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href="><lk rel="preload" href=" as="style"/><lk rel="stylheet" href="><noscript data-n-css=""></noscript><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/><lk rel="preload" href=" as="script"/></head><body><div id="__next"><div data-tegory="story page"><div></div><nav class="Nav_root___6bX9" aria-labelledby="se-navigatn" data-tegory="Se Nav" data-event-module="se nav" id="ma-navigatn"><div class="Nav_maNav__yofcm"><a href="#ma-ntent" class="Nav_skipLk__Evjjd">Skip to ntent</a><h2 id="se-navigatn" class="Nav_visuallyHi__AbSDF">Se Navigatn</h2><div class="Nav_flexContaer__Q3LKQ"><ul class="Nav_leftContaer__cPQgJ"><li class="Nav_navListItem__cEyWT Nav_visuallyHiOnMobile__hxCGG"><a href=" class="Nav_navLk__5SUAA"><svg xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 87.83 134" class="Nav_bigA__XvGGC"><tle>The Atlantic

highest ranking gay military officer

Retired officers Brig Gens Keh H Kerr and Virgil A Richard and Rear Adm Alan M Steman, srg 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for homosexuals ary, disclose that they are gay; say they are first generals and admiral to e out publicly and urge others to follow; hope to spur dialogue about changg policy; disclosure is part of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network drive to mark 10th anniversary of promise to let homosexuals serve ary; work says nearly 10,000 service members have been discharged for beg gay unr policy; photos (M)

Contents:

THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY U.S. HISTORY

The U.S. Army has announced the promotn of a "gay" officer to the rank of general. by Dave Bohon * highest ranking gay military officer *

Tammy Smh, the ary’s hight-rankg openly gay officer, me out 2012, she has tried beg an example of livg thentilly while also beg a bean of visibily to other Soldiers and their fai. The policy banned lbians, gay men and bisexuals om servg the ary.

It terrified her to e out as gay such a public way, but she felt a rponsibily to do , she said. As difficult as was for her, g out publicly as gay “may not have been as easy for someone who was at a lower rank,” Smh said an terview last week. “When I me durg the 80s, thgs were different for women and gay people, and now 2021, the societal l are different aga.”.

“People mt fd fort and ph back some of that ternalized homophobia, and build a b on the journey between hont and thentic.”. The First Openly Gay Army Secretary U.

I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK

But that omissn is what ma the Senate’s cisn to nfirm Fanng as the 22nd Army secretary this week such a historic moment: Fanng is now the first openly gay lear of a U.

GAY GENERAL HID PRIVATE LIFE OM ARMY FOR YEARS

Ary service, and the hight-rankg openly gay Pentagon official the untry’s Senate nfirmed Fanng by unanimo voice vote on Tuday, eight months after Print Obama nomated him to replace John McHugh, who held the posn for six years.

GAY EX-OFFICERS SAY 'DON'T ASK' DON'T WORK

Army is a monstratn of the ntued progrs towards fairns and equaly our natn’s armed forc, ” said Chad Griff, the print of the Human Rights Campaign, the largt gay-rights anizatn the U.

”In 2011, Congrs repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that sce 1994 banned openly gay men and women om servg the U. ”A earlier, the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” allowed gays and lbians to serve openly after centuri of hidg, persecutn and dishonorable, we salute some of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer service members who paved the way for a more clive force.

Ralph Earl via Getty ImagWhout this gay ary geni, the Contental army might not have won the Revolutnary War. Friedrich von Stben joed the Pssian army as a teen, eventually beg an ai--mp to Frerick the Great, who was also mored to be gay. But In 1763, at 33, Stben was unceremonly discharged “unr a cloud, hound by accatns of havg relatns wh young men, ” acrdg to The Gay and Lbian Review.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* HIGHEST RANKING GAY MILITARY OFFICER

I'm a Gay Army Officer—Queer Troops Mt Fight Back.

TOP