Defense Secretary Orders Renaming Of Navy Ship Named After Gay Rights Activist

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the renaming of a U.S. Navy ship named after San Francisco gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

The Military Times first reported on a memorandum issued by the Office of the Secretary of the Navy rolling out plans to rename the oiler USNS Harvey Milk.

The outlet reported that a defense official said the U.S. Navy was making preparations to strip the ship of its name and that Hegseth had directed Navy Secretary John Phelan to do so. The Military Times also reported the official saying the timing of the announcement during Pride month was intentional.

The memo directing the renaming of the ship said the move is meant to mark a shift in culture in the Department of Defense and U.S. Navy in “alignment with president and SECDEF [secretary of defense] objectives and SECNAV [secretary of the Navy] priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture,” according to the outlet.

In an emailed statement sent to Fox News, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell did not deny the renaming of the ship but indicated that further name changes may be coming.

“Secretary 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,” said Parnell.

Parnell said that “any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete.”

The USNS Harvey Milk was named after Milk in 2016 during the Obama administration. The ship completed its maiden voyage in 2024, arriving in San Francisco with much fanfare.

According to the Harvey Milk Foundation, Milk was a “visionary civil and human rights leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States” when he was elected to public office in San Francisco in 1977.

The foundation said that Milk enlisted in the Navy in 1951 but resigned in 1955 at the rank of lieutenant junior grade “after being officially questioned about his sexual orientation.”