OAN’s Roy Francis
9:50 AM – Friday, June 23, 2023
Ramstein Air Base in Germany hosted a Pride-themed story hour for kids in the library on base “in celebration” of Pride month according to Fox News.
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The event, which was named “Reading With PRIDE” was held on June 15th, with the official Facebook page of the base posting photos of the event and of volunteers reading books to kids. The event was held “in celebration” of Pride month and all the books that were read were reportedly “focused on inclusion.”
The event took place approximately a year after the same base was caught in a controversy over the planned “Drag Queen Storytime” event that was scheduled for May 2022. The base had canceled the event at the time after receiving major backlash from service members and parents.
According to Military.com, a second drag show at a Ramstein Air Base Bar, which was scheduled for early in June, was also canceled due to new guidance from the Defense Department which prohibited drag shows on military bases.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had issued the new guidance prohibiting drag shows on bases after lawmakers voiced concerns over a number of shows that were planned to take place throughout the month on different bases.
During a House Armed Services Committee hearing in March, Defense Secretary Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley, had seemed surprised to find out about the various planned shows on military bases.
“I’d like to take a look at those myself and find out what actually is going on there because that’s the first I’m hearing about that kind of stuff,” Milley had said at the hearing. “I’d like to take a look at those because I don’t agree with those. I think those things shouldn’t be happening.”
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth also rebutted claims that the military was becoming “woke” by charging its critics with contributing to the crisis and that the military leaders are being “dragged” into politicized discussions and situations.
“I think the more our military leaders are sort of dragged into spaces that have been politicized like that, I think the more it contributes to this perception that they’re political when they really aren’t,” Wormuth told reporters. “So, I hope that we don’t see more of the kind of talk that’s been out in the past few days.
In response to Fox News, Ramstein Air Base leadership released a statement which said that the event was “command-approved” and that it was intended to “advance our progress towards a respectful and inclusive culture.”
“Ultimately, all events held on Ramstein AB aim to foster an environment where all our members and families can thrive and feel valued as a part of our team as we continue to confidently execute our no-fail mission,” the statement read. “As Secretary Austin has previously stated during Congressional testimony, we do not host drag events at Ramstein AB facilities, and this event was consistent with such.”
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