Credit: CNN
At a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rejected claims from Rep. Matt Gaetz that “Drag Queen Story Hours” were happening on United States military bases across the country.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley responded to the claims from Gaetz. He said he was “unaware” of any events happening, but he was committed to ending the events if the claims were true.
After, Gaetz was photographed handing a folder to the general, in the folder was a series of articles he referenced during the hearing about drag queen events on military bases.
“‘Joint Base Langley-Eustis holds drag show at kid-friendly festival.’ And the next is ‘U.S. military defends drag show at largest training center as quote, ‘essential to morale,'” Gaetz told General Milley at the hearing.
“Next is ‘Nellis Air Force Base hosts first-ever drag queen show: ‘Essential to morale and readiness.” That’s a Breitbart piece. And finally, ‘Ramstein cancels library’s drag queen story time for Pride Month following criticism,'” the congressman continued.
“Can I get copies of those? Because I’d like to take a look at those myself, actually take a look and find out what actually is going on there,” the general replied.
“That’s the first I’m hearing about that kind of stuff. I don’t read those news stories. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d like to take a look at those because I don’t agree with those,” Milley added.
Gaetz was referring to a series of press clippings that included a June 2021 story from Breitbart regarding Nellis Air Force base in Nevada. They hosted “its first-ever drag queen show at one of its on-base dining and entertainment clubs.”
Nellis Air Force Base said in an email to Breitbart:
Nellis Air Force Base and the 99th Air Base Wing hosted its first-ever drag show Thursday, June 17, at the Nellis Club. The event was sponsored by a private organization and provided an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the history and significance of drag performance art within the LGBT+ community.
Ensuring our ranks reflect and are inclusive of the American people is essential to the morale, cohesion, and readiness of the military. Nellis Air Force Base is committed to providing and championing an environment that is characterized by equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion.
Gatez also referenced a July 2021 story by the Western Journal that explains Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force base hosting a drag event at a “club and community center at the base.”
A Military.com story from May 2022 was also cited, describing an event at “Ramstein Air Base in Germany in which a drag queen was scheduled to read a book to children at the library,” but was canceled “after criticism from some service members.”
Gatez office also connected the stores to drag queen events at Elgin Air Force base near Valparaiso, Florida in June of 2022 and Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia in July of 2022.
