Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning, the most senior openly gay appointee in the Department of Defense, speaks at the Defense Department Pride event recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender pride at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on June 25, 2013. Fanning described some of the difficulties and sense of isolation that he and others at the Pentagon endured, as the repeal process of don’t ask, don’t tell, ran its course.