On June 27, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk, a U.S. Navy fleet replenishment oiler named after the pioneering gay rights activist and Navy veteran, to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson. The announcement, made during Pride Month, marked a significant shift in the Navy’s approach to ship naming, as Hegseth declared an end to what he described as politicization in the process.
"We are taking the politics out of ship naming," Hegseth said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. "We're not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration. Instead, we're renaming the ship after a United States Navy Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, as it should be."
Oscar V. Peterson was a chief watertender on the USS Neosho during World War II, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary bravery during the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942. Despite being gravely wounded by Japanese dive bombers, Peterson single-handedly closed the bulkhead stop valves, an act credited with keeping the ship operational and saving the lives of 123 shipmates before he succumbed to his injuries. He was 42 years old and left behind a wife and two sons.
The USNS Harvey Milk had been named in 2016 under the Obama administration by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, as part of a class of oilers honoring civil and human rights leaders, including figures such as Chief Justice Earl Warren and Robert F. Kennedy. Harvey Milk himself was a Navy veteran, serving nearly four years during the Korean War. However, he accepted an "other than honorable" discharge rather than face court-martial due to his sexual orientation, a reflection of the military’s policies at the time.
Milk was a trailblazer in American politics, becoming the first openly gay man elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He championed LGBTQ+ rights and civil rights legislation before his assassination in 1978, just 11 months into his term. His legacy was further honored posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
The renaming of the ship has sparked a wave of criticism from advocates and politicians alike. Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk’s nephew and founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation, expressed deep disappointment. "This is a pretty big step back," he told ABC News. "My uncle’s legacy will live well past the 40 years’ life of a military ship, but it’s also endured quite a bit." He challenged Hegseth’s justification that sailors want to be proud of the ship they serve on, calling it "antithetical to the truth." According to Stuart, sailors serving on the USNS Harvey Milk were proud of the ship’s name and what it represented.
Lindsay Church, executive director of Minority Veterans of America, criticized Hegseth’s approach as a distraction from military readiness. "Hegseth is America’s culture warrior, and is bringing that particular lens into leading the Department of Defense, rather than focusing on military readiness and what will actually make Americans safer," she told ABC News. Church emphasized that veterans and active service members, regardless of background, serve their country with honor.
Jennifer Pike Bailey, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, condemned the renaming as a "disgrace" and a "desperate attempt to divide our country and politicize our military," especially at a time when the nation faces multiple security threats.
Political figures have also weighed in. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the erasure of Harvey Milk’s name "disgusting, blatant discrimination—and during Pride Month to boot." Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the decision as a "shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American dream." She argued that such moves do not strengthen national security or the warrior ethos but instead undermine fundamental American values.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell clarified that the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk differs from other military base renamings, such as Fort Bragg, which honors a Confederate general. He stated, "In no way is the Fort Bragg renaming comparable to a potential renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk—which occurred very recently in 2016 under the Obama Administration and was widely viewed as an ideologically-motivated action that countless sailors and veterans found abhorrent."
Hegseth’s directive to rename the ship aligns with a broader effort by the Trump administration to "reestablish the warrior culture" within the military and remove what they consider “woke” influences. Earlier in June 2025, Hegseth ordered a review of Navy vessels named after prominent civil rights leaders, signaling potential further changes, though Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson confirmed there are currently no plans to rename other ships in this class.
The USNS Harvey Milk, operated by the Military Sealift Command with a civilian crew of 125, conducted its first at-sea resupply mission in late 2024 and was active until it entered maintenance earlier this year at the Alabama Shipyard in Mobile. Ship renaming is rare and usually reserved for significant reasons, making this move particularly notable.
Historically, the naming of Navy ships has been a political process, overseen by the Navy Secretary, a presidential appointee confirmed by Congress. The most recent aircraft carriers, for example, have predominantly been named after U.S. presidents and members of Congress, reflecting the political nature of such decisions.
While Hegseth insists the renaming is about honoring heroism and removing politics, critics see it as part of a larger backlash against LGBTQ+ recognition in the military and society. Steve Walsh of WHRO in Norfolk, Virginia, reported concerns that this decision is emblematic of a broader trend targeting LGBTQ+ individuals.
The debate encapsulates a wider cultural clash over how the military should reflect American values and history. Should it honor trailblazers like Harvey Milk, who broke barriers and fought for equality, or focus exclusively on traditional military heroism as embodied by figures like Oscar V. Peterson?
As the USNS Harvey Milk becomes the USNS Oscar V. Peterson, the Navy—and the nation—confronts questions about identity, history, and the meaning of service in a changing America. For now, the legacy of Harvey Milk continues to inspire many beyond the lifespan of any ship, while the new name honors a fallen hero whose courage saved lives during one of history’s pivotal battles.
