Rant #3,634: The Name Game

Here is a story that got short shift from the media, but I find it to be an interesting story, one that you might not be aware of.

On Feb. 10, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth renamed Fort Liberty, N.C., to its former name,  returning the base to what it was known as for generations, Fort Bragg. 

In 2023, the name Fort Bragg was replaced by Fort Liberty, in a name-change sweep of several bases which was recommended by a Congressional commission targeting base names that had honored Confederate officers and Soldiers. 

The name “Bragg” honored Civil War Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. Confederate names were established on some Army bases in the buildup to and during World War I, as part of an effort to court support from local populations in the South, part of a reconciliation effort with those states which had supported the Confederacy during the Civil War.  

In recent times, these names were considered to be repugnant, honoring those who supported the Confederacy and all elements of that movement that led to the Civil War, including slavery. 

Fort Bragg was named after a Confederate general, but the new Bragg is named after a World War II hero, Pfc. Roland L. Bragg.

Both men have the same last name, but one is linked to the Civil War, and all the elements of the Confederacy, including slavery, while the other Bragg was a World War II hero who earned a Purple Heart.

A total of nine Army bases with Conderacy-related names were renamed in 2023, but President Trump has stated that he wants to bring back the previous names, and is using  kind of an end-around in doing this.

There is no word if the other bases--including forts which had formerly gone under the Lee and Bragg names, but had their names changed two years ago--will also be undergoing a reversion to their former names 

I think that this is pretty interesting, and honestly, a pretty clever way for the Trump Administration to revert to the former names.

Sure, Fort "Bragg" was originally named after a member of the Confederacy, but now, the Bragg name can live on, representing a true, honest-to- goodness war hero.

How about Hood and Lee? Can legitimate counterparts be found to put these names back in place?

One interesting side note is that while the military renamed Fort Lee in Virginia because of its link to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, the actual city of Fort Lee never changed its name, keeping Fort Lee while the base changed to Fort Gregg-Adams.

Yes, it truly is a real "name game," but it doesn't involve names like "Nick" or even "Chuck."

A name carries a lot of value.

Change is good, I guess, even when the change reverts back to a previous name.

Now, what about Fort Courage?

You'd have to ask F Troop and the Hikawis about that.