On Thursday (October 6), Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed off on renaming U.S. military bases, a recommendation from an independent commission suggesting that “names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia” honoring the Confederacy be removed.
The recommendation came after Congress established a Naming Commission last year to take inventory of the names commemorating the Confederacy. The commission found nine Army bases and several buildings with offending names, in addition to one monument commemorating Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetry.
Following the signing of the recommendation, Austin wrote about the significance of the Department of Defence’s facilities, writing in a memo to senior officials on Friday (October 7): “The installations and facilities that our Department operates are more than vital national security assets. They are also powerful public symbols of our military, and of course, they are the places where our Service members and their families work and live.”
He continued, explaining, “The names of these installations and facilities should inspire all those who call them home, fully reflect the history and the values of the United States, and commemorate the best of the republic that we are all sworn to protect.”
Nine military base names will be changed:
In Alabama, Fort Rucker will be renamed Fort Novosel.
In Georgia, Fort Benning will become Fort Moore, and Fort Gordon will be renamed Fort Eisenhower.
In Louisianna, Fort Polk will become Fort Johnson.
In North Carolina, Fort Bragg will be renamed Fort Liberty.
In Texas, Fort Hood will become Fort Cavazos.
In Virginia, Fort Lee will be renamed Fort Gregg-Adams; Fort Picket will become Fort Barfoot, and Fort A.P. Hill will become Fort Walker.
Two Navy ships — USS Chancellorsville and USNS Maury — will also be renamed, but their names have not yet been announced by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
According to Stars and Stripes, the cost of the undertaking is projected to be as much as $62.5 million.
