Hegseth announces that the Harvey Milk ship will be renamed the Oscar V. Peterson
"We're not changing the name of the ship because of anything political. It's not about political activists unlike the previous administration," said Secretary of Defense.
Pete Hegseth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the Harvey Milk will be renamed Oscar V. Peterson, after ordering the Navy to remove the gay rights activist's name from the ship.
Hegseth made the announcement in a video posted on X.
"We are eliminating the ship naming policy," Hegseth said. "We're not renaming the ship for anything political. This is not about political activists unlike the previous administration. Instead, we are renaming the ship after a Medal of Honor recipient of the U.S. Congressman of the Navy of the United States, as it should be."
Peterson, Hegseth said, was a watermaster who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during an attack on the USS Neosho by Japanese bombers during the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.
Limiting DEI influence in the federal government
According to a senior defense official familiar with the decision, this review is part of an effort to reassess how names are assigned to military assets, in line with the Trump Administration's directives to limit DEI programs in the federal government.
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