Fighter Jet Takes Off From Nellis Air Force Base - Photo by Military.com
WASHINGTON DC (WSAU) – According to a statement given to the Daily Caller on Thursday, the Department of Defense has officially canceled a drag show scheduled at the Nellis Air Force base in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Despite assurances from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that the Department of Defense does not endorse or subsidize the shows, the Nellis LGBTQ+ Pride Council was planning to host a free “family-friendly” drag show on Thursday, June 1, to kick off pride month.
“Per DoD Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in non-Federal capacity to use DoD facilities and equipment,” Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary for the Department of Defense, told the Daily Caller.
Recently, the US Navy denied that they paid a drag queen named YN2 Kelley to help attract a “wide range” of recruits for the service during a program that ended in April.
In a letter to Secretary Austin, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Republican Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana demanded that Austin retract claims that the DOD does not fund or sponsor drag shows.
Back in 2021, Nellis Air Force Base hosted an event called “Drag-u-Nellis.”
Nellis Air Force Base spokesman Lt. Col. Bryon McGarry sent a press release to Breitbart News saying, “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.”
The event, according to McGarry, was crucial to maintaining military morale and readiness.
According to the Army Times, the U.S army missed its recruitment goal by 15,000 soldiers in 2022 and the Marine Corps, which typically enters each fiscal year with as much as 50% of its recruiting objective already locked in, began 2023 with barely little more than 30%, according to officials. The Air Force and the Navy also only had around 10% of their goal met coming into this year.
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