Military lied about drag queen recruitment

Some members of Congress claim drag queen and sailor Joshua Kelley’s comments during an interview with “On Balance” host Leland Vittert prove the secretary of defense lied about drag involvement in the military.

“The Navy reached out to us. … The chief of information sent us a letter inviting us. I believe they sought us out to see if we can reach out to different demographics,” Kelley told Vittert on Tuesday.

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “flatly denied” drag involvement in the military at a House Armed Services Committee on March 29.

At the hearing, Austin said: “Drag shows are not something the Department of Defense supports or funds.”

Alford said Austin should have known about Kelley’s digital ambassador position.

“You shouldn’t be ignorant of this,” Alford said. “You need to know what’s going on below you in the chain of command. And so, this knowledge needs to come out. He should have at least gone back and checked on it because we made a big deal about this.” . . . .

Alford does not think drag has a place in the Navy. “Go be the best drag queen you can but not on a nuclear carrier, not on any ship, not to recruit people into the Navy,” Alford said.

. . . . . Alford said the main concern is the military missing its recruitment goal last year.

“Unfortunately, there are parents and grandparents who served in the military, who are veterans now, who because of this incident, are telling their children and grandchildren don’t even bother about serving in the military,” Alford said.

US Navy denied recruitment program that featured drag queen ‘digital ambassador’: Rep. Jim Banks (New York Post, 9 MAY 23)

Months before Republicans began protesting the Navy’s decision to tap an active-duty drag queen to serve as a “digital ambassador” to attract a diverse workforce, the service reportedly denied the existence of the recruitment outreach program during a March call with the House Armed Services Committee, The Post has exclusively learned.

Though the program had run from October to March and featured drag performer Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley as one of five “digital ambassadors,” HASC Subcommittee on Military Personnel Chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told The Post that a Navy briefer said the program “did not exist.”

“We are facing a historic recruitment crisis and instead of focusing efforts on strengthening our force, the Biden administration is forcing wokeness on our service members,” Banks said.

“Navy leadership knew this was a ridiculous and embarrassing stunt, and that is why they initially denied involvement with the program.”

Now, after Kelley’s pro-Navy outreach efforts on Instagram and TikTok made headlines last week, Banks and fellow subcommittee member Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) are asking Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to find out why lawmakers were misled.

In a letter Tuesday, the two gave Austin until May 23 to respond to a dozen requests related to the Navy program and provide an “explanation why DoD previously informed HASC that a digital ambassador program did not exist when in fact it did.”

The two also asked Austin to provide a list of all DoD officials who helped pick Kelley — whose drag name is “Harpy Daniels” — to serve as one of five digital ambassadors in the program, as well as those who authorized him to previously perform in drag for fellow troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

“It now appears that not only did the Navy engage in this misguided effort, but it incomprehensibly believed that this woke campaign should become the defining face of the service,” Banks and Alford wrote in the letter.

“While the Navy previously dismissed the existence of the ambassador program, a US Navy spokesman recently embraced the effort in responding to the backlash.”

The two were referring to a Newsweek report last week in which an unnamed Navy spokesperson defended Kelley’s participation in the program, saying, “Much like the country we serve, our Navy is stronger when we draw upon our diverse resources, skills, capabilities and talents. We remain committed to an inclusive environment.”. . . . . (read more)