Tag Archives: ray mabus

US Navy Says Homosexuality Represents US and Navy Values

The US Navy recently launched the USNS Harvey Milk. Milk was famous for being dishonorably discharged from the Navy for his homosexuality. He was also an elected official in San Francisco when he was killed by a political acquaintance in 1978.

The Navy said

The ship honors Navy veteran and LGBT activist Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office… USNS Harvey Milk is the first ship named for an openly gay person.

Thus, the US Navy clearly and emphatically said ship was named for Milk because he was gay.

Importantly, at the launch, President Biden’s Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said [emphasis added]

Ship names are important because they express what we value as a Navy and as a nation and communicate those values around the globe in every port of call…

The decision to name the ship after Milk began nearly 10 years ago, and was ultimately made by then-President Obama’s Navy Secretary Ray Mabus (who also attended the launch). At the time, Mabus was apparently trying to make a connection between gay “heroism” and the Medal of Honor.

There are already too many bad jokes about what Sailors do at sea and Read more

SecDef Mattis: Stop Pretending I’m Resisting Trump

Secretary of Defense and former US Marine Corps General James Mattis has been characterized recently as taking efforts to resist or otherwise slow-roll President Trump and his agenda. In one case, he was caught on camera telling US troops they were a model of unity for the country:

“You’re a great example for our country right now that’s got some problems – you know it and I know it…It’s got problems that we don’t have in the military, and you just hold the line my fine young soldiers, sailors, airmen [and] Marines. Just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it.”

The media portrayed that as a rebuke of President Trump. More recently, multiple media outlets and organizations have said Secretary Mattis “froze” President Trump’s planned ban on transgenders, an apparent rebuke of his boss. But that isn’t what happened at all.

President Trump ordered Read more

Former SecNav Ray Mabus’ Awkward Attack on Trump, Transgenders

Former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus published a commentary at Time.com railing against President Trump’s decision to ban transgenders from military service. The opinion piece was riddled with passionate but unsupported accusations — and, somewhat surprisingly, a seemingly ignorant perspective of the US military and the world, given his former tenure as the leader of the US Navy.  Said Mabus [emphasis added]:

By barring transgender[s]…Donald Trump told thousands of serving trans patriots they are not worthy of defending the country they love…

Contrary to his appeals to emotion, “barring” from service says nothing about anyone’s  Read more

Richard Spencer, Trump Nominee for Secretary of the Navy

Richard Spencer testified before the Senate Armed Services committee last week:

“I testified before this committee, I believe in 2015, that it was my belief that the Department of Defense – specifically, individual services – was not to be a petri dish for social experiments.

“We have…to fight forward so that readiness is the key and lethality is the product.”

Mark Green’s nomination for Secretary of the Army was torpedoed in part because, some noted, he was replacing the Army’s first homosexual Secretary.

Richard Spencer would be replacing someone people might arguably have called the Navy’s first homosexual Secretary, Ray Mabus, who at times was Read more

US Navy Gets Out in Front of President Trump

Update: After outcries of persecution due to President Trump’s silence, the acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel Anthony M. Kurta issued a DoD gay pride month celebration announcement.  Ironically, this contradicts information posted on the DEOMI website, which indicates the observance is “established by Presidential Proclamation” — which means the DoD is “celebrating” something that does not (yet) exist this year.

The US Navy got out in front of its own commander Wednesday when it issued a press release celebrating homosexuality for the month of June — something the Commander in Chief, President Donald Trump, has yet to do:

The Navy joins the nation in recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month throughout June…

“The Navy needs men and women who are the right fit for the right job regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, creed or gender identity,” said Capt. Candace Eckert, Special Assistant for Inclusion and Diversity.

Notice Capt Eckert didn’t include “religion” — but she did include three different variations of sex. That’s “diversity” in the Navy, it seems.

President Trump has yet to have his nominee for Secretary of the Navy, Read more

Navy Chaplain Experiences Religious Freedom — after Retirement

The military now leads the way in a lot of immoral behavior, where five years ago it led the way in honor, courage, and commitment. We need a moral fighting force.

US Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder — almost drummed out of the service in 2015 after homosexuals complained about his religious beliefs — recently retired, and he expressed frustration that his career was essentially ended by the unjust homosexual complaint:  Read more

Navy Secretary Appears to Equate Gay “Heroism” with Medal of Honor

mabus2Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has “raised a few eyebrows” recently, according to the Associated Press, when he’s chosen some unusual people for whom to name US Navy vessels (previously noted here):

Why, critics questioned, would he name a ship in honor of the late gay rights leader Harvey Milk or after former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords when there are plenty of military heroes to choose from?

The answer? Mabus says he’s trying to “connect” people with the US Navy and Marine Corps by highlighting “heroism” outside of the naval services.

Retired VAdm Doug Crowder noted Mabus had the “right” to name the ships, but Read more

Navy Honors Two Harveys: One Medal of Honor Recipient. One Homosexual.

Update: Now covered at the Stars and Stripes, CNN, and the Christian Science Monitor.

harveys

A Tale of Two Harveys: Harvey Barnum (L), Harvey Milk (R)

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that a destroyer would be named after retired US Marine Corps Colonel and Medal of Honor recipient Harvey Barnum.

In December 1965, then-Lieutenant Barnum was an artillery forward observer when he took command of a company under fire that had lost its commander:

He immediately assumed command of the rifle company…, and moving at once into the midst of the heavy fire, rallying and giving encouragement to all units, reorganized them to replace the loss of key personnel and led their attack on enemy positions from which deadly fire continued to come.

His sound and swift decisions and his obvious calm served to stabilize the badly decimated units and his gallant example as he stood exposed repeatedly to point out targets served as an inspiration to all.

After years of requests, the Navy is reportedly ready to name a vessel after Harvey Milk: Read more

1 2