In a passionate yet dignified open letter to Mike Huckabee, an Army Veteran came to the defense of President Obama’s nominee for SecretaryoOf The Army.
The author, Jonathan Freeman, is an Army Veteran who served two combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He’s also a past political appointee of Eric Fanning, President Obama’s nominee.
Fanning is an openly gay former journalist for CBS News who has been serving as the Chief of Staff for Defense Sec.Ash Carter. Fanning has been serving as undersecretary since June. President Obama said Fanning brings to the table:
“[Fanning brings] many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership” to the role. “I am grateful for his commitment to our men and women in uniform, and I am confident he will help lead America’s soldiers with distinction.”
The 47-year-old Fanning had been tagged as a “rising star” in Pentagon circles. Before working for Carter, Fanning was the undersecretary of the Air Force.
Huckabee responded to the news of President Obama’s nominee with this statement:
“It’s clear President Obama is more interested in appeasing America’s homosexuals than honoring America’s heroes.”
Huckabee ends his homophobic hyperbole by accusing the president of making a “diversity” pick over “merit,” saying:
“Obama is so obsessed with pandering to liberal interest groups he’s nominated an openly gay civilian to run the Army,” Huckabee continued, adding that “Homosexuality is not a job qualification.”
Freeman takes Huckabee to task in an eloquently written open letter:
Dear Mr. Huckabee,
As an Army Veteran, having served two combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, and as a past political appointee having worked for Eric Fanning in the Pentagon, I would like to respond to your comments about my former boss.
You have made the claim that Mr. Fanning was appointed solely because of his sexual orientation. I find this comment odd for a number of reasons. When Mr. Fanning was in the process of first being appointed to a political position in the Pentagon, we had a process of sending around the potential appointee’s resume. I vividly do not remember the resume or any of the following paperwork stating Mr. Fanning’s sexual orientation as either an identifier or a qualifier. Did you see different paperwork than I?
You have made the claim that the military is not social experiment, I would assume because you think that Mr. Fanning is a social experiment to lead the Army. What I think you should understand is that warfare is an entirely social experiment. From unit dynamics to leadership to understanding how to achieve a mission (many times through violence), every aspect of warfare can be traced to a social experience based on a social experiment. Perhaps you had a different experience during your extensive time at war?
I find it odd that a man who has served with distinction as the Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy, the Under Secretary of the Air Force, the acting Secretary of the Air Force, and the Chief of Staff of the Department of Defense seems like an appointment of appeasement.
Having worked for Mr. Fanning, I can tell you that he is a consummate leader, mentor, and coach. He has all the skills, ability, and background necessary to do great things for Soldiers and their families.
Knowing Mr. Fanning, as I do, he has my complete support and congratulations and I urge the United States Senate to confirm him without delay.
I hope, Mr. Huckabee, that you have made these outrageous claims due to a simple lack of knowledge rather than a mean spiritedness that would neither show you a leader or a Christian and I am happy to help educate you.
Your [sic] welcome.
Jonathan
