Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said the Navy “cannot tolerate extremist behavior of any kind” in a letter addressing recent incidents on ships.
Gilday said in the Tuesday letter that while the vast majority of sailors serve with honor and integrity, the branch “cannot be under any illusions that extremist behaviors do not exist in our Navy.”
“Just in the past few weeks, there have been two separate incidents where symbols of hate and violence were anonymously left in living areas aboard ships in our Fleet,” he said. “The chain of command took both of those incidents seriously and immediately launched investigations, which are ongoing.”
The first incident occurred last month on the USS Lake Champlain, a guided-missile carrier that was docked in San Diego at the time. A noose was discovered in a black sailor’s bunk, and another sailor later admitted to placing it there, Task & Purpose reported. In a second incident, hate speech was found scrawled on the wall of the USS Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier based out of San Diego.
“As directed by the Secretary of Defense and across the Fleet, each command will conduct a stand down by April 6, 2021, to address extremism within our ranks,” Gilday wrote. “We must better understand the scope of the problem, get after this issue, and eliminate conduct that is driven by extremist beliefs. No doubt, this is a leadership issue. We will own this.”
“If we don’t eliminate extremist behaviors from our Navy, then racism, injustice, indignity, and disrespect will grow and continue to keep us from reaching our potential – an inclusive, respectful, professional fighting force that answers the Nations call,” he added. “Simply put, we must demand of each other that we treat everyone with dignity and respect. That is how we will become a stronger Navy.”
Earlier this month, the Department of Defense announced a one-day stand-down for military leaders and civilian supervisors to address extremism in the military. The directive was handed down by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We are worried that the numbers may be more than what we’d be comfortable seeing them be at this point, and obviously the number should be zero, but I’m saying that the numbers may be bigger than what we may think,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. “That’s what the secretary wants to get after.”
