Sea Service Leaders Post Messages on Unrest Across United States

CNO Adm. Mike Gilday spoke to Sailors in a June 2 message he recorded on the unrest in the U.S. following the May 25 killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd at the hands of police.

WASHINGTON — Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday recorded a video message on June 2 to Sailors regarding the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the resulting unrest across the country.

The Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck was charged on June 3 with a new, more serious count of second-degree murder, and the three other officers on scene during Floyd’s May 25 apprehension and killing were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

The U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet also issued a “letter from leadership” about “respect, dignity and inclusion” on June 3. The text of the 6th Fleet statement is here.

And Marine Corps leadership, the commandant and the sergeant major of the Corps, are out with a joint message, also dated June 3, which is here.

In part, the Marine leadership message reads: “Only as a unified force, free from discrimination, racial inequality, and prejudice can we fully demonstrate our core values, and serve as the elite warfighting organization America requires and expects us to be.”