All articles tagged with #army bases
President Trump announced plans to revert the names of U.S. Army bases that were renamed to honor Confederate generals back to their original or alternative names, bypassing laws aimed at removing Confederate symbols from the military, sparking controversy and highlighting ongoing debates over Confederate legacy and American history.
President Trump has ordered the return to original, Confederate-linked names for seven U.S. Army bases, reversing the Biden administration's recent renaming efforts, at a cost of nearly $40 million, with bases now honoring various military heroes instead of Confederate figures.
President Trump announced the reversal of efforts to rename seven U.S. Army bases that originally honored Confederate leaders, restoring their historic names amid controversy over honoring pro-slavery figures, reversing a process initiated under President Biden aimed at promoting diversity and addressing systemic racism.
President Donald Trump announced plans to revert the names of seven major Army bases back to their original Confederate generals, reversing recent changes made during the Biden administration, amidst ongoing debates over the appropriateness of Confederate names on military installations.
Fort Bragg, one of the largest military bases in the US, has been renamed Fort Liberty as part of a congressionally mandated plan to rename military bases, ships, and streets that previously honored Confederate leaders. The plan is the culmination of a years-long effort that intensified in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd and the reckoning it brought over the nation’s history of racism. The other eight Army bases selected to be renamed are Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia; Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee, and Fort Pickett in Virginia; Fort Polk in Louisiana; Fort Rucker in Alabama; and Fort Hood in Texas.
Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the world, has been renamed Fort Liberty, dropping its Confederate namesake once and for all. The change is part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after Confederate soldiers. Nine bases across the country are being renamed at a cost of $39 million. While some veterans see it as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective black service members, others disagree with the name change.
The US Army has renamed its largest base, Fort Hood, as Fort Cavazos, and Fort Lee as Fort Gregg-Adams, among others, as part of its plan to remove Confederate Army namesakes from nine bases. The renaming of Fort Liberty marks the halfway point of the effort, with three bases remaining. The new namesakes include Black Medal of Honor awardee Sgt. William Johnson and Hal Moore and his wife Julia, who led troops in Vietnam and formed support groups for the wives of those killed in action. The renaming effort was initially controversial but was established by Congress in 2021 after protests about police killings of unarmed Black people.
Fort Pickett, an Army base in Virginia, has been renamed Fort Barfoot in honor of Col. Van Barfoot, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient. This is the first of nine Army bases to be renamed this year as part of the Pentagon's decision to remove Confederate names from military assets. The Naming Commission, an independent panel created by Congress, is tasked with reviewing and renaming military assets bearing the names of Confederate leaders. Fort Barfoot is the only National Guard installation among the nine being renamed.