Openly gay man nominated by Obama for secretary of Army A picture made available on the flickr website of the US Department of Labor photostream of then US Deaprtment of Defence chief of staff Eric Fanning speaking at an event honoring Frank Kameny and his life ' s accomplishments fighting for the LGBT community , in Washington , DC , USA , 23 June 2015 . US President Barack Obama on 18 September 2015 nominated openly gay Eric Fanning to become the next secretary of the Army . If confirmed by the Senate , he will become the first openly gay civilian to lead a branch of the US military . EPA / US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR / HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY ▶ [ 현장 영상 ] 개 의 , 개 에 의한 , 개 를 위한 영국 ' 강아지 패션쇼 '▶ [ 오늘 의 핫 화보 ] ' 벌 에 쏘이 면 가장 아픈 곳 은 ? 포유 류 소변 시간 은 ? '… 엉뚱 연구 수상식 < 저작권자 ( c ) 연합뉴스 , 무단 전재 - 재 배포 금지 >