Defense secretary renews support of LGBT troops at Great Lakes visit
During a visit to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter renewed his support of gay, lesbians and transgendered people in the military.
"If they can serve and contribute to our mission ... then I want to choose them for their qualifications," Carter said. "We want to pick people who are best qualified to do what our country needs."
Carter's remarks at the North Chicago base came about a month after he announced a new Defense Department policy allowing transgendered troops to serve openly. The policy also established standards for medical care and set training-related responsibilities for commanders regarding transgender issues.
On Thursday, Carter spoke positively of the military's changing attitude toward women and gays, lesbians and transgendered personnel.
"We need to look around our country and make sure we're tapping into every pool of talent we can and retaining them for their merits and not (disqualifying them) for other reasons," he said.
Carter also acknowledged what for decades has been a point of shame for the military - that transgendered people are serving in the armed forces.
"And they're serving well," Carter said. "And their commanders are dealing with this issue."
Carter's appearance at Great Lakes was part of a tour of U.S. bases that included stops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and a military entrance processing center in Chicago.
At Great Lakes, he met Navy recruits and ate lunch with recruit division commanders before speaking to about 50 people in front of the USS Whitehat, an indoor, replica warship used for training.
The recruits Carter observed earlier in the day seemed scared to death, he said.
"I'm not sure half of them knew what the secretary of defense was in the first place," Carter joked.
Still, Carter said he could tell some of them realized they were becoming "part of something bigger than themselves."
"We stand for good things," Carter said of the military. "We stand up for big things."
As for the Defense Department's historic shift to be more accepting of women, as well as gay, lesbian and transgendered personnel, Carter said it's something American institutions are increasingly recognizing should happen.
Carter said he has "great confidence" in the ability of military commanders to implement the new policy.