Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has instructed the Navy to undertake the uncommon action of renaming a vessel currently named after a notable figure in the gay rights movement, as indicated by documents and sources.
Military.com has examined a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, which possesses the authority to name naval ships, outlining plans to implement the renaming of the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk.
A defense official verified that the Navy is in the process of removing the ship’s existing name, mentioning that Navy Secretary John Phelan was ordered to execute this action by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The official also recognized that the timing of this decision—coinciding with Pride Month—was intentional.
The report highlighted that the memorandum stated the renaming was being conducted to ensure “alignment with president and SECDEF objectives and SECNAV priorities of reestablishing the warrior culture,” seemingly referring to President Donald Trump, Hegseth, and Phelan.
Milk was among the first openly gay elected officials in U.S. history during the 1970s, becoming a significant figure in the early gay civil rights movement. He was assassinated while serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
As per the memorandum, the renaming of the ship was set to be publicly announced on June 13. Although the new name for the USNS Harvey Milk was not revealed, the memo suggested that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan intend to disclose it aboard the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship in the Navy.
The USNS Harvey Milk is part of the John Lewis-class of oilers, a series of vessels named in tribute to prominent civil rights leaders and activists.
According to a report from CBS on Tuesday, the Navy is also considering the potential renaming of other vessels in this class, including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and USNS Harriet Tubman. Marshall and Ginsburg served as justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, while Tubman was a celebrated abolitionist who guided enslaved individuals to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Although it is not entirely unusual for Navy vessels to undergo renaming after their construction and christening, such occurrences are infrequent and are typically regarded as taboo within the established traditions of the Navy.
The latest example took place in 2023, when the Navy renamed the cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the research vessel USNS Maury—both of which were associated with the Confederacy. They were subsequently renamed USS Robert Smalls and USNS Marie Tharp, respectively.
In contrast to the order to rename the Harvey Milk, which was issued directly by Hegseth, the renaming of these two ships was based on a recommendation from a commission mandated by Congress, which was assigned to review and address names linked to the Confederacy throughout the military. At that time, the House was under Democratic control, and the commission was not bipartisan.
The oiler was initially named after Milk in 2016 by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus during the final days of the Obama administration. As reported by USNI News, Milk hailed from a family with a history of naval service and was commissioned as a Navy officer in 1951.
He subsequently served as a diving officer on the submarine rescue ship USS Kittiwake during the Korean War. He concluded his service as a lieutenant junior grade in 1955, receiving a “less than honorable” discharge “after being officially questioned about his sexual orientation,” as stated in his official biography.
