Hegseth Says Renaming USNS Harvey Milk “Takes Politics Out” of Ship Names

 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed in a video posted on social media on June 27 that the Navy has renamed the fleet oiler USNS Harvey Milk for a Navy Chief and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Oscar V. Petersen. The controversial move is being explained as “taking the politics out of ship names,” and blaming the “previous administration,” although the naming of the vessel dates to 2016 and a broader controversy about the names of U.S. Navy vessels.

The name USNS Harvey Milk was announced in July 2016 by then Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus during the Obama administration. Mabus was involved in several controversial names, including one vessel for labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, and the class of fleet replacement oilers started in 2016, known as the John Lewis class after another civil rights leader and elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives.  

The second ship of the class was named for Harvey Milk, recognized as the first openly gay politician. Milk served four years in the U.S. Navy in the early 1950s but was discharged after questions about his sexual orientation. He later said he was effectively “kicked out” of the Navy. He was elected in 1977 to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors but was murdered a year later in his office in City Hall. A former supervisor gunned down Milk and the city’s then mayor George Moscone.

Construction on the Milk began in 2019 during Donald Trump’s first term, three years after the name was first announced. The vessel was officially named during a launch in November 2021 and placed in active service in July 2023. The Milk has served with distinction including be the vessel conducts a replenishment at sea with the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford on December 13, 2024.

The decision to rename the ship leaked into the media at the beginning of the month. The reports said the effort was to “align” with the president and secretary of defense’s objectives of reestablishing the "warrior culture.”

Hegseth says in the video, “We are taking the politics out of ship naming. We’re not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration.” He goes on to say, “The name is as it should be. People want to be proud of the ship they’re sailing in.” He concludes by saying he would like to officially welcome the USNS Oscar V. Petersen to the Navy's vessel registry.

Critics of the move say it however is a political action and further cite the timing of the announcement to coincide with the Pride Month celebrations for gay rights, which culminate with parades this weekend. ABC News is saying a Department of Defense official said “the decision’s timing, during Pride month, was intentional.”

The name chosen for the vessel, USNS Oscar V. Petersen, is for a World War II Navy sailor who died from injuries while repairing a vessel damaged during the Battle of Coral Sea. Petersen died after taking actions to save the vessel and was posthumously awarded the Congressional honor.

Previous reports have said that Hegseth was looking at the names of other vessels and especially in this class, all of which have been chosen for people who could be considered activists.  ABC, however, in its reporting, says the Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson confirmed that there are currently no plans to rename other ships in this class.