President Donald Trump delivers a speech on June 10, 2025, at Fort Bragg, N.C. (Cory Reese/U.S. Army)
President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to bring back the name Fort Bragg to the Army base in North Carolina. In March, the base named Fort Liberty less than two years earlier was again Fort Bragg.
On Tuesday, Trump announced seven other southern Army installations would return to their old names that were changed in 2023 because they honored Confederate generals.
“We are going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee,” Trump told a crowd at Fort Bragg. “We won a lot of battles out of these forts. It’s no time to change.”
Trump has made no attempt to hide his disdain for the name changes to nine southern Army installations in 2023, which grew out of a years-long, multimillion-dollar effort that began in his first administration.
Some of Trump’s supporters long cheered his calls for Confederate names to remain on or return to Army posts, and some veterans who served at these installations have vowed to never recognize the official name changes that were conducted in ceremonies between March and October 2023, when Fort Pickett, Va., became Fort Barfoot; Fort Lee, Va., became Fort Gregg-Adams; Fort A.P. Hill, Va., became Fort Walker; Fort Hood, Texas, became Fort Cavazos; Fort Rucker, Ala., became Fort Novosel; Fort Polk, La., became Fort Johnson; Fort Bragg became Fort Liberty; Fort Benning, Ga., became Fort Moore, and Fort Gordon, Ga., became Fort Eisenhower.
Base names were changed after Congress mandated the Pentagon rid its installations of names and items honoring those who served the Confederacy.
Congress created the Naming Commission in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act — the annual must-pass bill that sets Congress’ policy and spending priorities for the Pentagon — charging the panel with identifying all items in the Defense Department inventory associated with the Confederacy.
Earlier in Trump’s second administration, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the return of Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, which was restored in April.
But Bragg no longer refers to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, for whom the base was named in 1918, but for Pfc. Roland L. Bragg. Benning now honors World War I veteran Cpl. Fred G. Benning.
Cynthia Smith, an Army spokeswoman, said in a statement that Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll will take immediate action to implement these redesignations.
“The Army will take all necessary actions to change the names of seven Army installations in honor of heroic soldiers who served in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to the Battle of Mogadishu,” Smith said. “Five of them received the Medal of Honor, three received the Distinguished Service Cross and one received the Silver Star.”
The Army continued the effort of finding new names without ties to the Confederacy.
Fort Pickett, formerly Fort Barfoot, will be named in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett for his actions during World War II. While pinned down by enemy machine gun fire, Pickett crawled forward and destroyed two enemy positions with grenades. After being captured, he escaped from a transport train with fellow POWs and rejoined his unit before being killed in action.
Fort Hood, formerly Fort Cavazos, will be named in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient Col. Robert B. Hood for his actions during World War I. Amid intense shelling near Thiaucourt, France, then-Capt. Hood directed artillery fire under enfilading machine-gun fire. After his gun crew was lost to enemy fire, he rapidly reorganized and returned fire within minutes, restoring combat capability.
Fort Gordon, formerly Fort Eisenhower, will be named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon for his valor during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia. Gordon volunteered to be inserted to defend wounded crew members at a helicopter crash site and held off an advancing enemy force, protecting the pilot after exhausting all his ammunition.
Fort Lee, formerly Fort Gregg-Adams, will be named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Pvt. Fitz Lee for his heroism during the Spanish-American War. During a coastal assault in Cuba, Lee voluntarily disembarked under direct enemy fire to rescue wounded comrades from the battlefield.
Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, will be named in honor of Silver Star recipient Gen. James H. Polk for his gallantry in action as commanding officer of the 3rd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) during operations across Europe in World War II. Then-Col. Polk led reconnaissance and combat missions under fire, spearheading Third Army advances as part of Task Force Polk. He later served as commander in chief of U.S. Army Europe.
Fort Rucker, formerly Fort Novosel, will be named in honor of Distinguished Service Cross recipient Capt. Edward W. Rucker for extraordinary heroism in World War I. Flying deep behind enemy lines, then-1st Lt. Rucker and his fellow aviators engaged a numerically superior enemy force in a daring aerial battle over France, disrupting enemy movements and completing their mission against overwhelming odds.
Fort A.P. Hill, formerly Fort Walker, will be named in honor of Medal of Honor recipients Lt. Col. Edward Hill, 1st Sgt. Robert A. Pinn and Pvt. Bruce Anderson for extraordinary heroism during the Civil War. Then-Capt. Hill, Pinn and Anderson executed significant actions separately at Cold Harbor, Va., Chapin’s Farm, Va., and Fort Fisher, N.C., in support of the U.S. Army.
At Fort Bragg on Tuesday, Trump also watched soldiers demonstrate a missile strike, a helicopter assault and a building raid as part of celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army.
Before Trump made his expected remarks at the base, he sat under a canopy to watch the demonstrations, a preview of the military display scheduled for Saturday in the nation’s capital for the Army parade.
Trump brought up the tug-of-war involving Fort Bragg with the crowd.
“Can you believe they changed that name in the last administration for a little bit,” the president asked the crowd at the base.
Some soldiers behind the stage responded with boos and gave the thumbs down.
Hegseth, after appearing in a congressional hearing Tuesday morning, and Driscoll attended the event alongside service members, veterans and their families.
Driscoll, who spoke to the crowd earlier in the afternoon, called Trump “the greatest recruiter in our Army’s history.”
The Army has scheduled many festivities this week to celebrate 250 years, with the biggest event being the parade.
The president has promoted the Army’s anniversary as a reason to hold a military parade in Washington on Saturday, which also happens to be Trump’s 79th birthday.
Trump long talked of a parade with soldiers and vehicles rolling down the streets of Washington similar to celebrations held in Moscow, Paris and other world capitals.
He backed off the idea in 2018 amid pushback from Army and District of Columbia officials over exorbitant costs and damage tanks might inflict on roads. Trump settled for a display of tanks and other armored vehicles during a July 4th celebration in 2019 in Washington.
The service on Saturday is bringing about 6,700 troops from every Army division, 150 vehicles and more than 50 aircraft for the event. The cost for the parade and other events has been estimated to be as much as $45 million.
As part of the Army’s celebration on Saturday, 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks will roll down Constitution Avenue. The tanks will be trucked to a staging area closer to the parade route.
Saturday will begin with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in the morning, followed by a fitness competition and an Army birthday festival on the National Mall. The day will culminate with a parade through the city and a jump by the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team, which will present Trump with an American flag. The president will also preside over an enlistment ceremony for 250 service members.
The Army last month estimated 200,000 will attend Saturday’s celebration.
“We’re going to celebrate on Saturday, and we’re going to celebrate from now on,” Trump said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
