The Navy Secretary touted its ships as “beacons in every port of call” for “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” in a message to the force celebrating Pride Month.
In the message to the force, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro highlighted Harvey Milk, the first openly-gay candidate to be elected to state office in California, who was also a lieutenant junior grade. In 2016, then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus named a ship after Milk.
Del Toro wrote:
In reflecting upon the difficulties of the past, I also want to highlight Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Harvey Milk, who regrettably had to mask his true identity before our beloved Navy forced him out through an ‘other than honorable’ discharge. LTJG Milk went on to become one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office, before a former colleague assassinated him in 1978. I will never forget sharing my understanding of the details of LTJG Milk’s service with his nephew, Mr. Stuart Milk, and personally witnessing the christening of the oiler USNS HARVEY MILK on 6 November 2021. I am proud to know that HARVEY MILK joins the ranks of present and future USNSs SOJOURNER TRUTH, EARL WARREN, ROBERT F. KENNEDY, LUCY STONE, and JOHN LEWIS as beacons in every port of call for the diversity, equity, and inclusion that we value as a Department and Nation.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion,” or DEI, has become a term encapsulating programs and trainings based on critical race theory, which has its roots in Marxism, according to Christopher Rufo, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Later in his message, Del Toro said LGBTQI+ Sailors, Marines, civilians, and contractors were working to mold the future of the Navy and realize the “limitless possibilities of a collaborative, diverse, and inclusive workforce where everyone can live as their true self and defend our Nation from extremism and any threat.”
ALNAV: https://t.co/fGKMsz1dx5 pic.twitter.com/vQbad6heNN
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) June 2, 2023
The message was tweeted out by the Navy a day after the service’s official account changed its cover photo to a rainbow-colored graphic with the word “Pride” on it.
None of the other services changed their cover photos, logos, or tweeted about Pride Month, although the Coast Guard — which is under the Department of Homeland Security, not the DOD — did.
The Navy has come under heavy criticism from the right recently, after appointing an active-duty “non-binary” sailor and drag queen named “Harpy Daniels” as one of its first five Navy Digital Ambassadors to aid with recruiting.
Republican lawmakers are demanding answers from Del Toro by June 6 on the Navy Digital Ambassador program and whether taxpayer funds were used for the program, and what effect it has actually had on recruiting, as Breitbart News exclusively reported.
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