An Army Captain has sharply criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Pentagon’s controversial decision to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, calling the move “immature” and politically charged. Jason Kander, former Missouri Secretary of State, Army intelligence officer, and U.S. Senate candidate, spoke out during an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Jansing on Wednesday.
The discussion centered on the Defense Department’s choice to “rebrand” the fleet replenishment oiler named after Harvey Milk, a Navy veteran and San Francisco city official who became the first openly gay man elected to public office in California before being assassinated in 1978.
Jansing noted that some veterans believe such decisions do little to “help crew members prepare for war,” and asked Kander whether the renaming effort was politicizing the military.
“Yeah, this is what happens when you put a Fox News host in charge of the Pentagon,” Kander said bluntly. “Everything looks like a tweet, and that’s what he’s doing. I mean, this is like a tweet to troll gay people during Pride Month. I mean, it’s pretty immature.” Kander went further, saying the decision reflects an outdated and theatrical view of military culture.
“It is also representative of the 1980s action movie way that these folks in the Trump administration see the military. And certainly, clearly, the way Pete Hegseth sees the military,” Kander said. “He talks constantly about trying to restore a warrior culture in the United States military. Well, I mean, Pete Hegseth may be confused because he was asked to leave the United States military because of the way he behaved.”
He continued, “But if he had stuck around, he would have been reminded every day that this is the most lethal, most effective, and most professional military in the history of planet Earth. And that’s the military that he inherited.” Kander strongly pushed back against the implication that LGBTQ service members do not belong within military ranks.
“When you say to sailors throughout the Navy… that you cannot be gay and be part of the warrior ethos… that’s a real problem in a military that rightfully got rid of the law that forced Harvey Milk out of the military,” he said.
He concluded by highlighting Milk’s legacy as an example of true courage: “If you want to talk about a warrior ethos, how about someone who joins the military during a war, gets kicked out over their objections, then fights for civil rights and gives their life for the cause. That’s what America is about — and that’s what our service members should be reminded they’re fighting for.”