USNS Harvey Milk

John Lewis-class oiler of the United States Navy

Harvey Milk in San Francisco Bay, 28 March 2024

History
United States
Name| Harvey Milk
Namesake| Harvey Milk
Awarded| 30 June 2016
Builder| National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Laid down| 3 September 2020[1]
Launched| 6 November 2021[2]
Sponsored by| Paula Neira[2]
Christened| 6 November 2021[2]
In service| 11 July 2023[3]
Identification|

* Hull number: T-AO-206
* IMO number: 9838773
* MMSI number: 369914054
* Callsign: NHMK

Motto| Courage and Conviction[4]
Status| In active Military Sealift Command service
Badge|
General characteristics
Type| Oiler

USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) is the second of the John Lewis-class of underway replenishment oilers, operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) to support ships of the United States Navy.

In July 2016, Ray Mabus, then United States Secretary of the Navy, advised Congress that he intended to name the John Lewis-class oilers after prominent civil rights leaders, with this ship to be named in honor of gay rights activist Harvey Milk.[5]

The ship was officially named at a ceremony in San Francisco on 16 August 2016.[6][7] Though Milk was gay, this ship is not the first US Navy ship named for an openly gay person, as that would be the WWI troopship USS Von Steuben (ID-3017), commissioned in 1917 and named for a revolutionary war hero and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.[8]

## Namesake

[edit]

Milk served in the US Navy during the Korean War aboard USS Kittiwake (ASR-13), a submarine rescue ship, and held the rank of lieutenant (junior grade).[5] In 1955, he was forced to resign and accept an "other than honorable" discharge, rather than face a court martial for his homosexuality.[9][10]

## Construction

[edit]

Construction for both Harvey Milk, and USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205), the lead ship of the class, was authorized on 30 June 2016.[11][12] Building got underway for John Lewis in 2018 at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego.[13]

Harvey Milk at her christening and launch ceremony, November 2021

The first cut of steel for Harvey Milk occurred on 13 December 2019, marking the beginning of construction of the vessel.[14] The ship had her christening ceremony and was then launched on 6 November 2021, with Milk's nephew Stuart Milk, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, and the ship's sponsor, prominent LBGTQ activist Paula Neira, in attendance.[2][15]

On 11 July 2023, Harvey Milk entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under the control of the Military Sealift Command.[3]

## Incidents

[edit]

In March 2024, during the Israel-Hamas war, nine pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to board the ship and create a disturbance. They were stopped at the gangway before they could board; however, they managed to chain themselves to the gangway, until San Francisco Police removed them peacefully. The protest was organized by the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, which claimed the cargo fuel ship was carrying weapons to Israel.[16]

## See also

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206).

* Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler \- predecessor class

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Keel Authenticated for Future USNS Harvey Milk". United States Navy. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
2. ^ a b c d "General Dynamics NASSCO christens and launches the future USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206)". National Steel and Shipbuilding Company. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
3. ^ a b "Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206)" (Press release). United States Navy. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
4. ^ "USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO 206)". tioh.army.mil. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
5. ^ a b "Navy to Name Ship After Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk". US Naval Institute. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
6. ^ Blake, Andrew (17 August 2016). "Naval ceremony celebrates naming of USNS Harvey Milk". The Washington Times. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
7. ^ Staley, Oliver (17 August 2016). "The US Navy is naming a ship after slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk". Quartz. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
8. ^ Blakemore, Erin (14 June 2018). "The Revolutionary War Hero Who Was Openly Gay". History.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
9. ^ Bajko, Matthew S. (12 February 2021). "Naval records indicate SF library's Milk discharge paperwork a fake". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
10. ^ Shivaram, Deepa (7 November 2021). "The U.S. Navy has christened a ship named after slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk". NPR. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
11. ^ "JOHN LEWIS (AO 205)". Naval Vessel Register. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
12. ^ "NO NAME (AO 206)". Naval Vessel Register. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
13. ^ "NASSCO starts construction of first John Lewis class oiler". marinelog.com. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
14. ^ "Construction of Navy ship 'Harvey Milk' begins at San Diego shipbuilder". sandiegouniontribune.com. 14 December 2019.
15. ^ "Navy launches ship named for gay rights leader Harvey Milk". navytimes.com. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
16. ^ Pehling, Dave (29 March 2024). "Pro-Palestinian demonstrators chain selves to gangway of USNS Harvey Milk in San Francisco - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 12 June 2024.

* v
* t
* e

John Lewis-class replenishment oilers

United States Navy|

| Planned|

* John Lewis
* Harvey Milk
* Earl Warren
* Robert F. Kennedy
* Lucy Stone
* Sojourner Truth
* Thurgood Marshall
* Ruth Bader Ginsburg
* Harriet Tubman
* Dolores Huerta

|

* List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy

* v
* t
* e

Harvey Milk

Career|

* George W. Hewlett High School
* USS Kittiwake
* Bache & Company
* Castro Street Fair
* Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
* Castro Camera
* 1977 Board of Supervisors election (District 5)

Associates|

* Cleve Jones
* Anne Kronenberg
* George Moscone
* Daniel Nicoletta
* Dick Pabich
* Jim Rivaldo
* Frank M. Robinson
* Scott Smith

Assassination|

* Moscone–Milk assassinations
* Dan White
* Jim Jones
* Twinkie defense
* White Night riots

Media and legacy|

* The Mayor of Castro Street (1982)
* The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
* Milk (2008)
* Harvey Milk Day
* Harvey Milk Foundation
* Harvey Milk High School
* Harvey Milk Plaza
* SW Harvey Milk Street (Portland, Oregon)
* USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206)

See also|

* Castro District, San Francisco
* LGBT firsts by year
* Stuart Milk
* Peoples Temple

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