Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada hosted its first officially organized drag show earlier this month and said the event was essential for the morale and overall readiness of its troops.
The June 17 event, called “Drag-u-Nellis,” was highlighted by Air Force special warfare veteran Brian Kimber, who tweeted, “So @NellisAFB is having a base-sanctioned drag Queen show; isn’t that awesome? Maybe some of our military ‘journalists’ can call them up and ask them about this.”
“I guess the airmen at @NellisAFB have completely mastered air and ground combat so they can relax with an event that has grown men in dresses twerking; very cool!” Kimber added.
In an emailed statement to Breitbart News, Nellis Air Force Base spokesman Lt. Col. Bryon McGarry said, “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.”
McGarry’s went on to characterize the event as essential to military morale and readiness.
“Ensuring our ranks reflect and are inclusive of the American people is essential to the morale, cohesion, and readiness of the military,” McGarry said. “Nellis Air Force Base is committed to providing and championing an environment that is characterized by equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion.”
June is celebrated throughout the LGBT community as “Pride Month.”
Task & Purpose reported the drag show was planned by the Nellis Air Force Base Pride committee and was sponsored by the Nellis Top 3, a private group whose stated purpose is to “enhance the morale, esprit de corps, of all enlisted personnel assigned to the [99th Air Base] Wing and to facilitate cooperation between members of the top three enlisted grades.”
Nellis Air Force Base and other military installations and units have hosted other LGBT events throughout the month of June, including “Pride Month Runs.”
Nellis Air Force Base is home to the Air Force Warfare Center, where pilots undergo advanced air combat training. The Air Force Warfare Center reports directly to the service’s combat command. The base website describes the Air Force Warfare Center as “the largest and most demanding advanced air combat training mission in the world” and handles training with air and ground units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and the air forces of allied nations.
“The crews do not come to learn how to fly, but instead how to be the best combat aviators in the world,” the base website states.
