tweeted<\/a> a portion of the clip with the caption, \u201cWhile China prepares for war, this is what they have our US Navy focused on.\u201d On Tuesday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, continued attacking the video, telling the Senate Armed Services Committee he had \u201ca lot of problems with the video.\u201d\n <\/p>\n\n But Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday defended the sailor, emphasizing that it\u2019s the job of a commanding officer to build a warfighting team.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you why I\u2019m particularly proud of this sailor,\u201d Gilday told the hearing. \u201cSo, her grandfather served during World War II, and he was gay and he was ostracized in the very institution that she not only joined and is proud to be a part of, but she volunteered to deploy on Ford and she\u2019ll likely deploy again next month when Ford goes back to sea.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Gilday used female pronouns to refer to Knutson but the Navy told CNN Knutson\u2019s pronouns of choice are non-binary.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe ask people from all over the country, from all walks of life, from all different backgrounds to join us,\u201d Gilday said, \u201cand then it\u2019s the job of a commanding officer to build a cohesive warfighting team that\u2019s going to follow the law, and the law requires that we be able to conduct prompt, sustained operations at sea. That level of trust that a commanding officer develops across that unit has to be able to be grounded on dignity and respect, and so \u2026 if that officer can lawfully join the United States Navy, is willing to serve and willing to take the same oath that you and I took to put their life on the line, then I\u2019m proud to serve beside them.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Some Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill have attacked the military for being too \u201cwoke,\u201d claiming it has been one of the causes of the military\u2019s poor recruiting numbers, despite a recent Army survey showing only 5% of potential recruits were concerned about \u201cwokeness.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Last month, Republican Rep. Cory Mills and several others went after the Defense Department on its diversity, equity and inclusion training at a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on military personnel. Mills said, \u201cWe absolutely 150% can out-pronoun every single one of our adversaries, and China and Russia I\u2019m sure are quaking in their boots over this.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n In response, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gil Cisneros said diversity and equal opportunity training have been a part of the military for decades.\n <\/p>\n
\n At another hearing in early-March with the military\u2019s top enlisted leaders, Sgt. Maj. Of the Army Michael Grinston stressed that the military\u2019s focus remains on combat lethality, even with additional training on diversity and inclusion.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere is one hour of equal opportunity training in basic training, and 92 hours of rifle marksmanship training,\u201d Grinston said at the time. \u201cAnd if you go to [One Station Unit Training], there is 165 hours of rifle marksmanship training and still only one hour of equal opportunity training.\u201d\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/210615165026-michael-gilday-file-hp-video.jpg\")
<\/p>\n