OAN Geraldyn Berry
UPDATED 4:50 PM – Wednesday, May 3, 2023
The United States Navy came under fire on Wednesday for using a “drag queen influencer” to help assist attracting new members of the armed forces in the midst of a severe recruiting crisis.
Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who goes by the stage name “Harpy Daniels” and identifies as non-binary, was revealed to be a “Digital Ambassador” in the Navy’s test initiative to draw in freshmen.
“Thank you to the Navy for giving me this opportunity! I don’t speak for the Navy but simply sharing my experience in the Navy! Hooyah, and let’s go Slay!” Kelley wrote.
Former U.S. military personnel, as well as MPs, have responded to the news in a fiery manner.
Representative Jim Banks (R-Ind.), chair of the House Military Personnel Subcommittee, expressed his disapproval and said that “woke” officials are “projecting weakness abroad and divisiveness at home.”
“The recruitment shortage is a serious crisis that we must address with serious solutions. TikTok videos of drag queens are just making a bad problem worse,” Banks said.
Sources say that in March, the congressman had contacted the Navy over Kelley’s story, but did not hear back from the service on its usage of the drag queen until recently.
In a tweet, former Navy SEAL Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) sarcastically insinuated that the military branch should collaborate with Anheuser-Busch who had recently came under fire for using transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Former Republican Senate candidate and combat veteran Sean Parnell, claimed that “woke BS is destroying [the] military.”
The Navy is using a drag queen to boost sinking recruitment numbers…& wondering why numbers are in the tank. This woke BS is destroying our military.
I’ve got @KurtSchlichter on the podcast this week to discuss. pic.twitter.com/y0vWK5gKZl
