The U.S. Navy Should Consider What Has Occurred with Bud Light: Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw of Texas was among the critics of a new recruiting campaign now underway with the United States Navy.
The service had invited an active-duty sailor to serve as a “Digital Ambassador” as part of a recent drive “to attract the most talented and diverse workforce.”
Though the U.S. military has taken a number of moves to appeal to Generation-Z including playing up its social role and diversity – the new effort goes into what can only be described as “uncharted territory.
Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, who reportedly identifies as non-binary, was appointed as the first of five Navy Digital Ambassadors in a pilot program that ran from October to March. When Kelley isn’t wearing the Navy’s whites, “they” (Kelley’s preferred pronoun) can be seen in far more colorful attire, as Kelley performs as a “drag queen” with the stage name Harpy Daniels.
“Maybe the Navy should talk to Bud Light marketing and exchange notes about what NOT to do,” Crenshaw noted in a post on his official Twitter account (@DanCrenshawTX) on Wednesday.
The Bud Light Controversy
It was last month that the beer brand faced major backlash for a campaign involving transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
High-profile conservatives including Travis Tritt, Kid Rock, and Ben Shapiro called for a boycott of Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light. Sales of the beer took a nose dive, but the brand was already seeing declining sales in an increasingly competitive market.
As CNN reported, Bud Light had for years leaned on jokey ad campaigns but sought to take a new direction to appeal to younger drinkers.
It was then met with greater-than-expected backlash, and in an attempt to defuse the situation, the company left no one happy.
The Navy’s Digital Ambassador Program
What is important to note is that the Navy’s campaign had actually run before the Bud Light debacle, but it has cast it front and center in the spotlight.
Kelley – who has also performed onboard U.S. Navy ships – said this provided an opportunity to become an “advocate” for people who “were oppressed for years in the service.”
After being appointed digital ambassador in November, Kelley wrote on Instagram, “From joining to 2016 and being able to share my drag experience on my off time with my fellow sailors has been a blessing. 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!”
The revelations that the U.S. Navy was using a drag queen as a “digital ambassador” – even as the performer’s opinions are not endorsed by the Department of Defense (DoD) or Department of the Navy (DoN) – set off explosive reactions from lawmakers and former members of the U.S. military alike.
“Woke, partisan 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,” Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who serves as the chair of the House Military Personnel Subcommittee, told Fox News Digital.
A Navy spokesman told Fox News that the program, which ended in March, was “designed to explore the digital environment to reach a wide range of potential candidates.”
It was instituted as all of the services have faced challenges in meeting recruitment goals. Currently, just 13 percent of young Americans currently are described as “highly willing” to serve in the armed forces. It is unclear if such digital ambassadors have helped matters.
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Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
