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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum on Monday to rename Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Bragg.
“That’s right. Bragg is back,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X after signing the memo onboard a military transport aircraft bound for Germany.
The new name, however, does not honor the Confederate general the Army base was previously named after.
“The new name pays tribute to Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge,” Department of Defense press secretary John Ullyot said in a statement.
“This change underscores the installation’s legacy of recognizing those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation,” he added.
The North Carolina base was originally named in 1918 for Gen. Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles that contributed to the Confederacy’s downfall.
It was one of several military bases that were named after Confederate figures during World War I and World War II as part of an effort by the federal government to demonstrate “reconciliation” with southern whites, according to Boston University historian Nina Silber.
The base took on the name Fort Liberty in June 2023 as part of a Biden administration Pentagon initiative – motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests – to rename military installations that had been named after Confederate soldiers.
The North Carolina military installation was the only base renamed using a moniker that did not honor a person.
The cost to rename Fort Bragg — one of the largest military installations in the world by population — was about $8 million.
President Trump had vowed on the 2024 campaign trail to rename Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, if elected.
“We did win two world wars from Fort Bragg, right?” Trump said at an October rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“We’re gonna get it back. We’re gonna bring our country back,” he pledged.
The base is home to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and serves as the headquarters for the Army’s Special Operations Command.
Hegseth’s memo directed the Army to present the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment with a timeline to implement the name change and a list of any additional resources that may be needed.
