Veterans Approve of First Openly Gay Defense Expert Nominated to Lead the Army

President Barack Obama has nominated defense expert (and open homosexual) Eric Fanning to serve as the Army secretary. Obama's historic decision has made Fanning the first openly gay American to be nominated to head a division of the military. Although conservatives have battled the president to defund Planned Parenthood in recent weeks, veterans have supported Obama's first pick to lead the Army.

"I have no problem with [Fanning's sexuality]," Robbie Piker, a 27-year-old Marines veteran who served in Afghanistan, told Broadly. "It's just another person technically. I knew gay people when I was in the military anyways, but they just couldn't come out and be themselves. The [Pentagon is] just letting them be themselves. It's changing."

Army veterans and experts agree with Piker. "My sense is that the Army is over this and has been over it for some time," Phil Carter, an Iraq War veteran and senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told the Washington Post. "The Army cares whether you can shoot straight, not whether you are straight."

According to most military experts, Fanning can shoot more than straight. Army Times has called him "one of the most capable leaders in the Pentagon," and Fanning has worked as a national security expert for over two decades, leading the charge behind our country's most complicated weapons. A few jobs on his resume according to the New York Times: civilian adviser to Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, Air Force under secretary, deputy under secretary of the Navy, and deputy chief management officer of the Navy. Even Breitbart's fetus worshipers found little to critique about Fanning. The conservative new media site simply released a short post announcing the nomination.

The senate still must confirm Fanning's nomination, but if he secures the role, he faces a difficult job. Alongside General Mark Milley, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Fanning would have to fix the army's many problems. The Washington Post reports many soldiers have returned home from the wars only to kill themselves, and the army has cut 80,000 soldiers' jobs. (40,000 more jobs will also end.) The same article says some experts worry the army isn't prepared to fight if necessary. A cultural battle has also brewed within the Pentagon. Since Don't Ask, Don't Tell ended, the armed services have struggled to integrate LGBTQ members.

If anyone can fix the army's many problems, though, it's Fanning—regardless if he's a pitcher, catcher, or vers.