National Defense

Pentagon Cancels Drag Show At The Last Minute

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The Pentagon told command at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada to drop a drag show from its Pride Month programming just days before the event was scheduled to take place on Thursday, NBC News reported, citing two defense officials and a U.S. official.

Air Force leaders approved the drag show to celebrate LGBTQ service members during Pride Month as the Pentagon’s leaders testified before Congress that drag queen story hours are not something the Department of Defense “funds or supports” in March, according to NBC News. In a notice to Nellis sent in the past few days, the Pentagon told base officials that funding drag shows is a violation of Pentagon policy and the show should be canceled or moved off base, according to the outlet, citing the officials.

“I can confirm the Nellis commander informed the private organization that the drag event would have to be canceled or relocated to an off-base location,” a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Drag shows and story hours on military bases have taken place several times in the past. The Air Force canceled a drag queen story hour planned at Ramstein Air Force Base in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2022 after the event drew fire from Republicans for being “inappropriate” and “extremely divisive” because such events “place young children in close proximity with adults who are intentionally and explicitly sexualized,” according to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley disavowed drag events at a House Armed Services Committee in March.

“Drag queen story hours is not something that the department funds,” Austin told Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who had asked how many taxpayer dollars DOD should devote toward such programming.

BREAKING: General Mark Milley commits to ENDING drag queen story hour events on military bases after I presented evidence to him during today’s House Armed Service Committee hearing. @SecDef Austin however denied that they were happening at all… pic.twitter.com/aqiaqFdcI4

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 29, 2023

In 2021, Nellis hosted the first-ever “Drag-U Nellis” event, “an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the history and significance of drag performance art within the LGBT+ community,” according to The New York Post.

“As Secretary Austin has said, the DOD will not host drag events at U.S. military installations or facilities. Hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is not a suitable use of DOD resources,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“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,” Singh added. “Our Service members are diverse and are allowed to have personal outlets. We are proud to serve alongside any and every young American who takes the oath that puts their life on the line in defense of our country.”

Nellis AFB referred the DCNF to Singh’s statement.