Defense Minister Pete Hegseth began with USNS tanker Harvey Milk, named after the 1978 murderous leader of the gay rights movement and a Korean War veteran. According to the media, there are to be more ships bearing the names of the leaders of the civilian rights movement. The U.S. Politico portal reported, citing 2 sources at the Pentagon, that information about the renaming of the tanker was to be made public on 13 June. This week, however, Nancy Pelosi, erstwhile talker of the home of Representatives, representing California Congress, has already made the substance public.
"The decision to change the names of USNS Harvey Milk and another ships by the Trump administration is simply a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break the barriers so that everyone could follow the American dream. Our military is the most powerful in the world, but this malicious movement does not strengthen our national safety or the ethos of a warrior," she said in a message on her website.
CBS station on Tuesday reported that the American Navy is besides considering changing the names of another supply units, including USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg and USNS Harriet Tubman. Both Marshall and Ginsburg were black judges of the ultimate Court, and Tubman was a black abolitionist who helped slaves escape the American South through the alleged underground railway, that is, a network of roads, houses and people smuggling fugitives.
Several times it happened that the U.S. Navy changed the names of its units, as in 2023, erstwhile it renamed a cruiser USS Chancellorsville and a investigation ship USNS Maury at the request of Congress. At Chancellorsville at the turn of April and May 1863 Confederates from the rebellious confederate states won a large triumph over the army of the North. The ship is presently sailing as USS Robert Smalls, named after a black slave who during the same war hijacked the Confederate ship and handed it over to the Union troops.
The investigation ship, named after the naval oceanographer and erstwhile Confederate Matthew Fontaine Maury, was renamed USNS Marie Tharp, which developed the first professional maps of the Atlantic Ocean. president Joe Biden's administration besides removed the names of Confederate generals from respective military bases, but Trump ordered them back in March.
According to data, in 2023, the U.S. Navy had about 490 ships, including 12 aircraft carriers, 22 cruisers, 68 destroyers, and 70 submarines. The budget for 2023 was about $721 billion, accounting for about 14% of the national budget.
It is worth noting that ship names are not a fresh phenomenon in the U.S. Navy. In the past, ships have been renamed due to political, technological or cultural changes. For example, in the 1960s, the Navy renamed respective ships to honor leaders of the civilian rights movement specified as Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks.
There are besides naval ships in Poland, which bear the names of the leaders of the civilian rights movement. For example, the Warsaw Ship is named after the city, which played an crucial function in the Warsaw Uprising during planet War II.
It is besides worth noting that changes in ship names may affect the identity and image of the Navy. For example, ships bearing the names of leaders of the civilian rights movement can be seen as a symbol of freedom and equality, which can have a affirmative impact on public opinion.
The conclusions that can be drawn from the above information are that ship name changes are an crucial component of naval policy and culture. Donald Trump's administration began reviewing ship names to make certain that they were consistent with the "etos of the warrior". It is worth noting that changes in the names of ships are not a fresh phenomenon in the U.S. Navy, and Poland besides has its naval ships, which bear the names of the leaders of the civilian rights movement.
