Hegseth orders the name of gay rights activist Harvey Milk scrubbed from Navy ship

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a highly rare move that will strip the ship of the moniker of a slain gay rights activist who served as a sailor during the Korean War.US officials say Navy Secretary John Phelan put together a small team to rename the replenishment oiler and that a new name is expected this month.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the next name had not yet been chosen.The change was laid out in an internal memo that officials said defended the action as a move to align with President Donald Trump and Hegseth’s objectives to “re-establish the warrior culture.”It marks the latest move by Hegseth and the wider Trump administration to purge all programs, policies, books and social media mentions of references to diversity, equity and inclusion.And it comes during Pride Month — the same timing as the Pentagon’s campaign to force transgender troops out of the US military.Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that Hegseth is “committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief’s priorities, our nation’s history, and the warrior ethos.”Phelan’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the decision, which was first reported by Military.com.The USNS Harvey Milk was named in 2016 by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who said at the time that the John Lewis-class of oilers would be named after leaders who fought for civil and human rights.Milk, who was portrayed by Sean Penn in an Oscar-winning 2008 movie, served for four years in the Navy before he was forced out for being gay.

He later became one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office.Milk served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and had sponsored a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, housing and employment.It p...