国防部长皮特·海格塞斯已经下令海军据消息人士透露，在一艘船上打出倡导同性恋权利的活动家哈维·米尔克的名字，在骄傲月庆祝活动举行之际精心策划了这一变化。
一名国防部官员表示，这一决定的时机是有意安排的。
该命令首先由Military.com报道，并由美国广播公司新闻证实。
米尔克是1977年赢得旧金山监事会席位后第一批当选美国公职的公开同性恋男子之一。一年后他被暗杀了。
在担任公职之前，米尔克于1951年加入了海军，并就读于罗德岛的军官候选人学校。
根据一份报告，米尔克在海军服役了将近四年来自退伍军人事务部的帖子。由于他的性取向，在受到军事法庭的威胁后，他被解除了中尉军衔。
他的母亲和父亲也在第一次世界大战期间在美国海军服役。
五角大楼的首席发言人肖恩·帕内尔发表声明说，任何重新命名“将在内部审查完成后宣布。”
帕内尔在一份声明中补充说:“赫格塞斯部长致力于确保所有国防部设施和资产的名称都反映出总司令的优先事项、我们国家的历史和勇士精神。”
USNS哈维·米尔克号是以著名民权领袖和活动家命名的几艘船之一。新的名字还没有公布。
“据报道，特朗普政府决定更改USNS·哈维·米尔克号和约翰·路易斯级其他船只的名称，这是对那些为打破所有人追逐美国梦的障碍而斗争的人的可耻和报复性的抹杀，”前众议院议长·南希·佩洛西在周二的一份声明中说。
约翰·刘易斯级的其他船只包括鲁斯·巴德·金斯伯格号、索杰纳·特鲁斯号、约翰·刘易斯号和瑟古德·马歇尔号等。
“我们的军队是世界上最强大的——但这一恶意的举动并没有加强我们的国家安全或‘战士’精神，”她补充道。“相反，这是对美国基本价值观的放弃:尊重那些努力建设一个更美好国家的人的遗产。”
在他去世之前，米尔克鼓励他的朋友兼艺术家吉尔伯特·贝克，一位美国退伍军人创作了骄傲旗。米尔克由西恩·潘在2008年的传记电影《米尔克》中饰演
加州州长加文·纽瑟姆也批评了报道中的更名，称“唐纳德·特朗普对退伍军人的攻击创下新低。”
“哈维·米尔克不仅仅是一个民权偶像——他是一名朝鲜战争的战斗老兵，他的指挥官称他为‘杰出的’”，他补充道。“将他的名字从一艘海军舰艇上抹去不会抹去他作为美国偶像的遗产，但它确实揭示了特朗普对我们的退伍军人努力保护的价值观的蔑视。”
Hegseth orders Navy to rename ship honoring gay rights activist Harvey Milk
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered theNavyto strike the name of pioneering gay rights activist Harvey Milk from one of its ships, orchestrating the change as Pride month celebrations take place, according to sources.
A defense official said the timing of the decision was intentional.
The order was first reported by Military.com and confirmed by ABC News.
Milk was one of the first openly gay men elected to public office in the United States after winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He was assassinated a year later.
Before serving in public office, Milk in 1951 enlisted in the Navy and attended Officer Candidate School in Rhode Island.
Milk served nearly four years in the Navy, according to apost from the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was discharged at the rank of a junior lieutenant after being threatened with a court martial because of his sexual orientation.
Both his mother and his father also served in the U.S. Navy in World War I.
The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, issued a statement saying that any renamings "will be announced after internal reviews are complete."
"Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos," Parnell added in a statement.
The USNS Harvey Milk is one of several ships named after prominent civil rights leaders and activists. A new name has not been announced.
"The reported decision by the Trump administration to change the names of the USNS Harvey Milk and other ships in the John Lewis-class is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American dream," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a Tuesday statement.
Other ships in the John Lewis class include the Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sojourner Truth, John Lewis and Thurgood Marshall, among others.
"Our military is the most powerful in the world -- but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the 'warrior' ethos," she added. "Instead, it is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country."
Before his death, Milk was credited with encouraging his friend and artist Gilbert Baker, a U.S. Army veteran to create the Pride flag. Milk was played by Sean Penn in the 2008 biographical film "Milk."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also criticized the reported renaming, saying, "Donald Trump's assault on veterans has hit a new low."
"Harvey Milk wasn't just a civil rights icon -- he was a Korean War combat veteran whose commander called him 'outstanding,'" he added. "Stripping his name from a Navy ship won't erase his legacy as an American icon, but it does reveal Trump's contempt for the very values our veterans fight to protect."
