Rewriting Tomorrow: The Navy's New Battleground - A Ship's Name
- Author: Yannik Schüller
- Duration: Approx 2 Min Read
A Question Arises: Can a Vessel's Label be Progressive According to Pete Hegseth? His Answer: Affirmative. - Is the ship's name too bizarre for Pete Hegseth to approve?
Pete Hegseth pulls no punches, and his approach to military culture isn't hard to understand. Before becoming the Defense Secretary in Trump's term, Hegseth expressed vocal disapproval of LGBTQ soldiers serving in the U.S. military - deeming it a part of a supposed "Marxist agenda."
The Great Denamer Strikes Again
Now in the heat of his first few months in office, Hegseth is making headlines once more. This time, the controversy revolves around a U.S. Navy oiler proudly named the "USNS Harvey Milk." Recent reports, first leaked by "Military.com," unveil a secretive, internal memo ordering the Navy to revisit this nomenclature. The motive? Align it with "the goals of the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the priorities of the Secretary of the Navy in reinstating warrior culture."
Harvey Milk, an icon of gay and lesbian rights in the States, was murdered in 1978, and he went down in history as one of the first openly gay politicians. In Germany, he might evoke thoughts of Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, who portrayed Milk on the big screen in 2009.
The "USNS Harvey Milk" was christened in 2016 during Barack Obama's reign. His then-Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, was responsible for the decision. At the time, Republican critics argued that the naming process was politically motivated, ironically setting the stage for today's turbulence.
A Foreshadowing of the Culture Wars?
Tankers named after the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are also on the chopping block, suggesting a broader review is taking place under Hegseth's watchful eye. The spokesperson for the Defense Secretary confirmed the review, stating Hegseth's intention to ensure all Department of Defense facilities and resources echo the "history of our nation, the spirit of our troops," as dictated by the "Command-in-Chief."
Since taking office, Hegseth has been a zealous opponent of diversity programs within the military, following a pattern of altering references, websites, and dismissing high-ranking officials, including a disproportionate number of women.
According to the former chief of staffs of Obama's Navy Secretary, Hegseth seems to be on a crusade to remove any historical figures that do not fit the mold of a heterosexual white male.
- Pete Hegseth
- U.S. Military
- Harvey Milk
- Sean Penn
- Cultural War
- Historical Erasure
- Fox News' anchor, Pete Hegseth, is once again at the center of controversy, planning to revise the naming of the U.S. Navy oiler, USNS Harvey Milk, in an attempt to align it with the President's, Secretary of Defense's, and Secretary of the Navy's goals to reinstate warrior culture, a move that some perceive as part of a cultural war and historical erasure, echoing the rhetoric of his vocal disapproval of LGBTQ soldiers during his tenure in the US military.
- In the realm of politics and general news, the upcoming war-and-conflicts and defense-related reports will undoubtedly discuss the impact of Hegseth's policies, including the possibility of renaming vessels such as those honoring historical figures like Harvey Milk and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as Hegseth's administration seeks to determine whether the names of Department of Defense facilities and resources reflect the history of the nation and the spirit of the troops, as directed by the Command-in-Chief, paralleling his ongoing crusade to remove any figures not fitting the mold of a heterosexual white male.
