The Navy’s top admiral has ordered that the Confederate battle flag be prohibited from display on naval bases, ships, aircraft, and submarines.
“The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, has directed his staff to begin crafting an order that would prohibit the Confederate battle flag from all public spaces and work areas aboard Navy installations, ships, aircraft, and submarines,” Gilday’s spokesman Cmdr. Nate Christensen said in a statement.
“The order is meant to ensure unit cohesion, preserve good order and discipline, and uphold the Navy’s core values of honor, courage, and commitment,” he added.
The move takes place after the Marine Corps implemented a similar policy in April and the Army said it would consider renaming bases named after Confederate officers.
U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley are reportedly considering renaming nearly a dozen major bases named after Confederate leaders, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas.
The Army said in a statement Monday that Esper and McCarthy are open to a “bipartisan discussion on the topic,” but added that each Army base is named after “a soldier who holds a significant place in our military history.”
“Accordingly, the historic names represent individuals, not causes or ideologies,” the statement said.
The Confederate flag, its symbols, and the statues commemorating Confederate leaders have long been a cause for division in the country.
Critics have called the flag a symbol that represents our war to keep slavery around while supporters call the flag a symbol of Southern heritage.
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