Former US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, who served in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency, has died aged 68. He suffered a sudden cardiac event in Boston on Monday, his family said. As the country’s 25th defence secretary, he oversaw the military strategy that pushed back the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria and Iraq. Mr Carter is also credited with lifting the ban on transgender people serving in the US military. The policy change in 2016 allowed troops to transition gender while serving. It also set standards for medical care and prevented service members from being discharged or denied re-enlistment based on their gender identity. But the move, which was phased in during the final year of the Obama presidency, was rolled back one year later by former President Donald Trump. It has since been reinstated by President Joe Biden. Mr Carter made other significant changes to the Department of Defense (DoD), such as opening all military occupations to women without exception for the first time. About 10% of positions were still closed to women at the time of the announcement in 2016.(BBC)…[+]