Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Navy Secretary John Phelan to strip the USNS Harvey Milk of its name, with the change to be announced on June 13.
- The memorandum cites alignment with Trump-era and SECDEF priorities to reestablish a warrior culture through updated naming conventions.
- Commissioned in 2021, the USNS Harvey Milk is a John Lewis-class replenishment oiler named for the slain gay-rights activist and Navy veteran.
- Other John Lewis-class vessels honoring civil-rights leaders, including those named for Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are under consideration for renaming.
- Renaming a commissioned ship is exceptionally rare; the Navy last made a post-service name change in 2023 to remove Confederate-linked titles.