Defense Secretary Hegseth brings back Fort Bragg name, with a different namesake

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is bringing the name Bragg back to one of the Army’s largest bases, Fort Liberty, which replaced the namesake of a Confederate general in 2023.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is bringing the name Bragg back to one of the Army’s largest bases, Fort Liberty, which replaced the namesake of a Confederate general in 2023. But in a memorandum signed Monday, Hegseth instructed the Army to rename the North Carolina military installation in honor of a different Bragg: Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II veteran who was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for extraordinary bravery during the Battle of the Bulge, according to a statement from Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot. “This change underscores the installation’s legacy of recognizing those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation,” Ullyot said. Before it was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023, the fort was named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, who drew criticism for his combative personality and poor field performance during the Civil War. A naming commission set up by Congress to study renaming bases noted Bragg is “considered one of the worst generals of the Civil War,” and was “widely disliked in the pre-Civil War U.S. Army and within the Confederate Army by peers and subordinates alike.” The fort was among nine bases that the congressional commission proposed renaming during President Joe Biden’s presidency. Removing Confederate monikers from US military bases became a contentious political issue in the final months of Donald Trump’s first term. While Trump vetoed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that included the naming commission, Congress voted to override his veto with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Department of Defense began implementing the naming commission’s recommendations in 2023. Changing the bases back to their former Confederate names would require congressional approval.