US military starts removing base names, items related to Confederacy

The Pentagon on Thursday ordered a Defense Department-wide effort to begin removing the names and items associated with the Confederacy, as per last year’s recommendations from the congressional Naming Commission. 

Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante directed all Defense Department (DOD) organizations to “begin full implementation” of the Naming Commission’s recommendations, three months after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin gave his go-ahead on the effort in October. 

The military branches and all other DOD organizations will now work to rename or remove the more than 1,100 street, school and building names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia in the United States and overseas that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America. The items were recommended for change in a final report from the Naming Commission released in September.  

The Pentagon has until Jan. 1, 2024, to finish its task, at the heart of which was an effort to change the names of nine Army bases currently honoring Confederate generals, which the commission earlier this summer offered alternative titles for. 

Those bases are Fort Bragg, N.C., the largest U.S. military base; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Lee, Va.; Fort Pickett, Va.; Fort A.P. Hill, Va.; Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Polk, La., and Fort Rucker, Ala. All will be renamed for those with ties to the Army’s nearly 250-year history, with the exception of Fort Bragg, which will be changed to Fort Liberty.

Asked later Thursday whether the U.S. military is confident it can meet the deadline, top Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters that each of the services “has clear instructions in terms of what it is that they need to focus on,” and Austin “is confident that the services are and will continue to take that seriously.”

LaPlante also noted that the affected DOD organizations have submitted a “comprehensive plan of action and milestones” to implement the commission’s recommendations by the deadline.  

After it was mandated by Congress in 2021, the Naming Commission spent 18 months conducting “extensive consultations” with experts, historians, communities and service members to identify and suggest alternative titles for the Confederacy-related items and names. It estimated the DOD would need to spend about $62.5 million to remove or retitle those assets.