Former Defense Secretary under Democratic President Barack Obama, Ashton Carter, has died at the age of 68 following a “cardiac episode,” leaving behind a legacy of a transgender military and other revolutionary measures that altered the face of the American military.
Cater was an American military-civilian figure who served from February 2015 to January 2017 as the 25th secretary of defense. He then served as the director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs. Carter started off as a physicist.
A 2016 press release highlighted Carter’s most significant contribution to American society: the acceptance of transgenders in the military.
“Transgender service members in the U.S. military can now serve openly without fear of retaliation, Defense Secretary Ash Carter stated today in a policy decision that immediately overturns the prohibition on transgender service across all branches of service.
30 June 2016: Defense Secretary Ash Carter outlines a new transgender policy for the Department of Defense during a Pentagon press conference.
30 June 2016: During a Pentagon press conference, Ash Carter reveals a new transgender policy for the Defense Department.
Following a review under his command, the secretary stated at a Pentagon press conference that the decision to abolish the transgender restriction was based on three primary considerations: the future force, the current force, and questions of principle.
Ban Lifted Immediately
“As a result of the yearlong study, I’m announcing today that we are ending the ban on transgender Americans in the United States military. Effective immediately, transgender Americans may serve openly, and they can no longer be discharged or otherwise separated from the military just for being transgender,” Carter said, according to the press release.
“Obama’s last Pentagon chief who ended transgender military ban troops that Trump then reversed passes away ‘unexpectedly’ in Boston,” The Daily Mail reported,” adding:
Ash Carter, a former U.S. defense secretary under the administration of Barack Obama, died of a sudden cardiac incident on Monday evening, according to a statement released by his family on Tuesday.
Carter, who served during the final two years of the Obama administration, oversaw the start of a military plan that would ultimately result in the defeat of the Islamic State military group in Syria and Iraq.
Since leaving governmental service, Carter has directed the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
Carter issued a statement promising an orderly transition following the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, after a race where many leaders in the national security establishment sided with rival Hillary Clinton. CONTINUE READING…