https://abc11.com/fort-bragg-new-name-liberty-confederate/11889560/
The Army currently has ten installations named after Confederate generals. The panel President Biden convened to rename these bases after someone besides Confederate generals has made its recommendations.
If these names hold:
Fort Bragg, NC is currently named after Braxton Bragg, a Confederate artillery general renowned for being the worst prick to ever wear the uniform. It will become Fort Liberty...because, you know, there aren't any Airborne generals to name the place after. (The father of the Airborne is William C. Lee. They can't name the base Fort Lee for two reasons - there's already a Fort Lee, which you will see soon, and everyone in the AO will think they renamed Bragg after Robert instead of William. I would have preferred Fort Ridgway after General Matthew Ridgway, who served as commander of two of the biggest units on this base, Fort Schoomaker after Peter Schoomaker, the first Special Forces officer to be Chief of Staff of the Army, and his brother Eric, who was Surgeon General of the Army, or Fort Shelton after Henry Hugh Shelton, the first SF officer to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.)
Fort Polk, LA, is currently named after Leonidas Polk, an Episcopalian minister who became a Confederate general. It will become Fort Johnson, after SGT William Henry Johnson, a Black soldier who earned the Medal of Honor during World War I. I suspect the troops will quickly nickname this place Fort Dick, which as anyone who's ever seen Fort Polk will agree is totally understandable.
Fort A.P. Hill, VA, is named after Ambrose Powell Hill Jr., a Confederate general who died during the Third Battle of Petersburg. It will become Fort Walker, after Mary Edwards Walker - the only woman to have earned the Medal of Honor.
Fort Hood, TX, is named after John Bell Hood. He replaced General Joseph E. Johnston, a move historian Bruce Catton describes as "probably the single largest mistake that either government made during the war." In place of this fuckup, the base will become Fort Cavazos after GEN Richard Cavazos, the first Hispanic four-star Army general. I would have preferred an armor officer - Cavazos was infantry - but Richard Cavazos was a good man.
Fort Gordon, GA, is named for Major General John Brown Gordon, a slaveholder and attorney who was a good general on the wrong side of the war. It will become Fort Eisenhower after President Eisenhower.
Fort Lee, VA, is named after Robert E. Lee, who you already know. It gets named after two people: Lieutenant General Arthur Gregg, who was the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics - a fitting choice as this base is all about logistics - and who is also still alive as of this writing; and Charity Adams, the first Black Women's Army Corps officer.
Fort Pickett, VA, is named after George Pickett, the West Point Goat of 1846 and the most boneheaded general the Confederates had. It will become Fort Barfoot, a Native American who earned the Medal of Honor in World War II.
Fort Benning, GA, is named for General Henry L. Benning, who would fit right in with today's Republican Party. It will become Fort Moore after LTG Hal Moore, the subject of the book and movie "We Were Soldiers." General Moore was a great officer. No objections here at all.
Fort Rucker, AL, is named for Edmund Rucker, a Confederate cavalryman. It will become Fort Novosel after Michael Novosel, an Army aviator and recipient of the Medal of Honor who flew in World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam Conflict. (I guess Fort Mackmull after LTG "Fat Jack" Mackmull, the father of Army Aviation, was out of the question because Fat Jack Mackmull was WAY too entertaining.)
Except for the whole "Fort Liberty" thing, I think they did a good job.
