At the age of 68, former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who served during the second term of former President Barack Obama, passed away.
According to several sources, Carter “died suddenly Monday evening in Boston after a sudden cardiac incident,” according to a statement from the family.
In addition to eliminating the ban on transgender military officers, which was later reinstated by the Trump administration, he oversaw the beginning of the military operation that would be used to push back the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq while serving as the chief of the Pentagon. He allowed women to serve in all combat-related military positions.
Carter served as the undersecretary of defense before becoming the deputy secretary of state during Obama’s first term.
Since leaving the government, Carter has served as the director of Harvard’s Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
His wife Stephanie and their two kids are left behind.
