Army considering changing name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg
Army officials are considering changing the name of Fort Liberty in North Carolina back to Fort Bragg, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
Army officials are considering changing the name of Fort Liberty in North Carolina back to Fort Bragg, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
In 2021, Congress established a commission tasked with renaming Department of Defense properties that were named after Confederate leaders. Then-President Donald Trump vetoed the bill, arguing against changing any of the names, but Congress overrode the veto, making the changes mandatory by law.
In 2022, the commission recommended changing the names of nine Army installations, including Fort Bragg, which was named after General Braxton Bragg in 1918, a native North Carolinian and Confederate leader who fought in the Mexican-American War. In June 2023, the base was officially renamed Fort Liberty.
During a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in October, Trump said he would change the name back. “We get elected, I’m doing it,” he told the crowd. “We did win two world wars from Fort Bragg, right? So this is not a time to be changing names,” he said, adding, “We’re going to get it back.”
The entrance to Fort Bragg, N.C.Chris Seward / AP fileWhile working as a Fox News host, Pete Hegseth was critical of the names being changed, calling it “a sham” and “garbage.” When he walked into the Pentagon on his first full day as secretary of defense, Hegseth referred to Fort Liberty as Fort Bragg, setting off speculation that he would move to change it back.
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