Hegseth Removes Gay Rights Activist's Name From Navy Ship

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently ordered the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson in an effort to purportedly take “the politics out of ship naming.”

The USNS Milk was ordered to be named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk during former President Barack Obama’s administration. 

Milk, whose homosexual tendencies caused his discharge from the military, was the first openly gay man to be elected into public office in California. 

“We’re not renaming the ship to anything political, we’re not naming it after political activists, unlike the previous administration,” said Secretary Hegseth. 

Oscar V. Peterson, the USNS Milk’s new namesake, is a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. 

Peterson sacrificed himself for his Navy unit while under attack from Japanese forces during WW2. 

Hegseth underscored that Peterson’s “spirit of self-sacrifice and concern for his crew-mates was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Navy.”

“I would like to officially welcome the USNS Oscar V. Peterson to the Navy's vessel register,” concluded Hegseth.

President Donald Trump and his administration have acted on promises to ‘depoliticize’ the military and focus on optimizing its efficiency and lethality via measures such as terminating military Diverse, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. 

Regardless of Trump’s actions’ effectiveness, military recruitment, a sign of the public’s outlook on the military, has reached record highs in recent weeks.

Hegseth announced that the U.S. Army had its best recruiting numbers in 15 years last January.

"In January 2025, the Army hit its best recruiting number in 15 YEARS. America’s youth want to serve under the bold & strong “America First” leadership of @realDonaldTrump," Hegseth said. 

According to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, the Army met its recruiting goal of 55,000 for Fiscal Year 2024.  The Army did not meet its recruiting goal of 65,000 in Fiscal Year 2023 or 60,000 in Fiscal Year 2022.