U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reversed the 2023 renaming of Fort Liberty, restoring its original name, Fort Bragg. The decision, announced Monday, overturns the previous name change driven by racial justice protests.
Fort Bragg, one of the world’s largest military bases, was renamed Fort Liberty as part of an effort to remove Confederate names from military installations. The renaming followed nationwide protests after the 2020 death of George Floyd.
Former President Donald Trump had expressed support for reverting the name during a campaign stop in North Carolina last year. Congress passed a 2021 law barring bases from being named after Confederate officers, leading to the initial renaming.
Originally established in 1918, the North Carolina base was named after General Braxton Bragg, a Confederate officer. It houses Airborne and Special Operations Forces, with 57,000 troops stationed there.
Hegseth circumvented the congressional ban by officially renaming the base after Private First Class Roland Bragg, a distinguished World War II soldier. The change, he stated, honors all U.S. soldiers who have trained and fought there while preserving the base’s historic legacy.
“That’s right, Bragg is back,” Hegseth declared while signing the renaming memo.
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