Secretary of Defense Signs Off on Fort Bragg Name Change to Fort Liberty

Fort Bragg New Name Name Change Fort Liberty Fayetteville North Carolina

Fort Bragg will have a new name – Fort Liberty – no mater than January 1, 2024.

Photo by Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images

The United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin has signed off on the decision to rename nine military bases named after Confederate officers, including the Fort Bragg name change to Fort Liberty.

The Department of Defense issued a release Thursday, saying that Austin agreed with the findings of the Naming Commission, and has ordered change processes to begin at the end of a mandatory waiting period. As we reported earlier this year, Fort Bragg is set to be renamed Fort Liberty.

"The installations and facilities that our Department operates are more than vital national security assets," Austin said in a memo issued Thursday. "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. 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."

The installations that will undergo name changes are:

Fort Bragg, North Carolina – Fort Liberty
Fort Gordon, Georgia – Fort Eisenhower
Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia – Fort Walker
Fort Hood, Texas – Fort Cavazos
Fort Lee, Virginia – Fort Gregg-Adams
Fort Pickett, Virginia – Fort Barfoot
Fort Polk, Louisiana – Fort Johnson
Fort Rucker, Alabama – Fort Novosel

The changes were brought about by a commission that Congress established in 2021. It's goal was to remove names and symbols that honored the Confederate Army.

Austin said that the changes should happen no later than January 1, 2024. Working groups are being formed at each installation - including Fort Bragg - with the goal of having a plan for each name change in place by November 18, 2022.

"I concur with all of the Naming Commission's recommendations, including the renaming plan," Austin said in the memo. "In the words of Admiral Michelle M. Howard, the Naming Commission's chair, the commission's goal was to inspire Service members and military communities 'with names or values that have meaning.' The Department's implementation of the Commission's recommendations will do just that - and will give proud new names that are rooted in their local communities and that honor American heroes whose valor, courage, and patriotism exemplify the very best of the United States military."

Images Courtesy The Naming Commission

It looks like a new name has been selected for Fort Bragg: Get ready for Fort Liberty.

The Naming Commission released its suggested names for the nine Army installations that were originally named to commemorate the Confederacy. Those nine bases: Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Bragg, NC; Fort Rucker, Alabama; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Gordon, Georgia; Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia; Fort Lee, Virginia; and Fort Pickett, Virginia. (SEE ALL NINE NEW BASE NAMES BELOW.)

"The Naming Commission sought to find names that would be inspirational to the Soldiers and civilians who serve on our Army posts, and to the communities who support them," ADM Michelle J. Howard (U.S. Navy, ret.), Chair of the Naming Commission said. "We realized that we had more heroes than we did bases to name. And we were overwhelmed with the greatness of the American Soldier – from those who gave their entire adult lives to the Army, to those who sacrificed themselves in valorous acts. We were reminded that courage has no boundaries by man-made categories of race, color, gender, religion, or creed."

The new names will be added to the Commission's final report to Congress, due by October 1 of this year. Congress will then have final approval over where, when and how the name changes will go into effect.

"In the 21st century, liberty remains the central tenet of America and its Army," the information sheet for the new Fort Liberty name said. "Liberty graces our currency and our landmarks, and is essential to our founding documents. Liberty unites our varied politics – although different Americans have always held different ideas about how to best secure the blessings of liberty to the citizenry, they have always agreed that the enjoyment, enlargement, and endorsement of liberty is paramount to our national purpose. Liberty continues to unite the Army. It features on crests, centers the Divisional song of the storied 82d Airborne Division, and anchors the motto of the equally heralded U.S. Army Special Forces."

The Commission originally narrowed the options down to 87 names, earlier this year. After listening sessions at each installation, and additional public feedback, The Commission got more than 34,000 submissions, including 3,670 unique names. The large majority of the names were legendary American icons, like Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall, Audie Murphy, Harriet Tubman and a whole host of Medal of Honor recipients.

"From privates to generals, we found hundreds of military members who exemplified the core values of the Army. As we visited installations, we were touched by the contributions of the Soldiers' families and community groups who support them. They work faithfully and tirelessly alongside our military members," ADM. Howard said. "Our goal was to inspire today's Soldiers and the local communities with names or values that have meaning. We wanted names and values that underpin the core responsibility of the military, to defend the Constitution of the United States. We wanted names and values that evoke confidence in all who serve. Confidence that by emulating those whose names are on the installations, we too can rise to every challenge, overcome every obstacle, achieve excellence, and, if necessary, sacrifice our lives for this country and her people.

"These names we are recommending embody the best of the United States Army and America."

The Commission is set to deliver a report to Congress later this year that outlines all the costs associated with a name change, as well as the ways it all needs to happen. The plan is currently required to be implemented around the beginning of 2024 at the earliest.

"Following upcoming engagements with installation leaders, personnel and their counterparts in local communities to discuss the names, the Commission will select the final names for recommendation in the naming plan due to Congress by Oct. 1, 2022."

Here's all nine of the new military base names: