
Navy to Name Ship After Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk - 99_00
https://news.usni.org/2016/07/28/navy-name-ship-gay-rights-activist-harvey-milk
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laveur
I have to say as a gay man that this is a huge step for any part of the US
Armed Forces.

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l0b0
As a straight man I say good on them.

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vermontdevil
He also served four years in the Navy

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ethanbond
As is apparent by the screen-high photo of him in uniform directly beneath the
headline. The ship is actually named after him due to his civil rights record,
however.

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marme
it is being named after him due to his civil rights work but it is the navy
choosing to name something after him because he was a navy man. Robert Kennedy
also served in the navy. Had they served in the army the navy would be less
likely to want to name ships after them. Which is why it is surprising they
are naming a ship after Warren because he served in the army in ww1

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vonmoltke
It isn't really that unusual. Military Sealift Command ships are named after
notable Americans with little to no connection to the military all the time.
This is the first time a class as been specifically designated to honor civil
rights pioneers, though.

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omonra
This report provides relevant background on US navy ship naming:
[https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22478.pdf](https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RS22478.pdf)

For ship types now being procured for the Navy, or recently procured for the
Navy, naming rules can be summarized as follows:  Aircraft carriers are
generally named for past U.S. Presidents. Of the last 14, 10 were named for
past U.S. Presidents, and 2 for Members of Congress.  Virginia (SSN-774)
class attack submarines are being named for states.  Destroyers are named for
deceased members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including
Secretaries of the Navy.  Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) are being named for
regionally important U.S. cities and communities.  Amphibious assault ships
are being named for important battles in which U.S. Marines played a prominent
part, and for famous earlier U.S. Navy ships that were not named for battles.
 San Antonio (LPD-17) class amphibious ships are being named for major U.S.
cities and communities, and cities and communities attacked on September 11,
2001\.  John Lewis (TAO-205) class oilers, previously known as TAO(X)s, are
being named for people who fought for civil rights and human rights.  Lewis
and Clark (TAKE-1) class cargo and ammunition ships were named for famous
American explorers, trailblazers, and pioneers.  Expeditionary Fast
Transports (EPFs), previously called Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs), are
being named for small U.S. cities.  Expeditionary Transport Docks (ESDs) and
Expeditionary Sea Bases (ESBs), which were previously called Mobile Landing
Platform (MLP) ships and Afloat Forward Staging Bases (AFSBs), respectively,
are being named for famous names or places of historical significance to U.S.
Marines.

So basically there has been reserved a class of ships (oilers) that are all
going to be named after Civil Rights activists.

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the_duke
I can already imagine the shit storm that will come from republicans and
conservative media.

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_asummers
Good. Let it. That fuse can only burn so long before there's nothing left and
it fizzles out.

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wtbob
That's surprising, given Milk's support for Jim Jones and his People's
Temple[1,2], whose followers murdered a U.S. congressman and committed mass
suicide.

[1]
[http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=16566](http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=16566)
[2] [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/02/in-defence-of-jim-
jones...](http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/02/in-defence-of-jim-jones.html)

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sshrinivasan
Milky McMilkface?

