IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Morning Rundown: Baltimore battles ship owners over bridge collapse, concerns about Biden university speech, and why the perception of 'old age' may be changing

Obama to Nominate Eric Fanning for Army, Would Be 1st Openly Gay Service Chief

Fanning’s nomination is the latest in a series of steps the Obama administration has undertaken to support the rights of gays and lesbians.
Eric Fanning has been nominated for Secretary of the Army.
Eric Fanning has been nominated for Secretary of the Army.USAF
By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube

President Barack Obama on Friday announced that he will nominate of Eric Fanning to be the next Secretary of the Army.

Fanning is openly gay and very active in the LGBT community. He has been serving as acting undersecretary of the Army since June 2015.

If approved, he would be the first openly gay service secretary. He temporarily served as acting Secretary of the Air Force several years ago, before the current secretary was approved.

Eric Fanning has been nominated for Secretary of the Army.
Eric Fanning has been nominated for Secretary of the Army.USAF

Fanning’s nomination is the latest in a series of steps the Obama administration has undertaken to support the rights of gays and lesbians. His administration has also pushed for greater transgender equality.

Obama's own views on the matter of same-sex marriage have evolved and he has pushed increasingly for issues of gay rights in his second term. The Pentagon lifted the "don't ask, don't tell" prohibition against openly gay men or women serving in the military two years ago.

Related: Landmark: Supreme Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Legal Nationwide

Fanning has held senior level positions in the Air Force and Navy and, if confirmed by the Senate, would be charged with helping the Army rebuild dwindled ranks, budgetary strains and address suicides among soldiers who returned from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jim Miklaszewski

Jim Miklaszewski is the chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News. On 9/11, he was the first at the scene to report that the Pentagon had been attacked and has since led the network's coverage of the war in Afghanistan.

Since joining NBC in 1985, Miklaszewski was a White House correspondent during the Clinton and Bush administrations, covering President Clinton's transition from Little Rock, his many trips abroad including Moscow and the Middle East and his reelection. He was also an NBC floor reporter at the Democratic and Republican conventions in 1996 and 2000.

In the Bush White House, Miklaszewski reported on the Gulf War with Iraq, summits with Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin and the Bush reelection campaign in 1992.

Miklaszewski has logged considerable foreign experience with battlefront coverage of wars in Lebanon, El Salvador and the Falkland Islands. He also covered the United States air raid on Libya, and the "tanker wars" in the Persian Gulf.

Courtney Kube

Courtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.