Department of Defense, “Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Renames Fort Liberty to Fort Roland L. Bragg“
While flying aboard a C-17 from Joint Base Andrews to Stuttgart on February 10, 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum renaming Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Roland L. Bragg. 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. This change underscores the installation’s legacy of recognizing those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation.
This move will make a lot of people who hated the “Fort Liberty” name, which was always a lame choice, and who have memories of their time serving at Bragg happy while annoying those who see it as a transparent undoing of the Base Naming Commission’s work. But I suspect it’ll stick, as undoing it would require dishonoring young PFC Bragg—even though we all know we wouldn’t otherwise be naming one of the most storied US Army bases after someone who earned the third highest medal for valor.
It is noteworthy that the Bragg/Liberty name has been by far the most contentious. Of the nine Army bases renamed between March and June 2022, it’s the only one that I still hear about. I’ve actually done training at the former Forts Benning (now Moore), Rucker (now Novosel), and Gordon (now Eisenhower) and have been on Hood (now Cavazos) and A.P. Hill (now Walker) and, aside from having to remember what they’re now called, haven’t much cared. My dad did his basic training at Polk (now Johnson) over 60 years ago now. But the fact that the commission couldn’t pick a soldier associated with the home of the XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, and U.S. Special Forces and went with the “Liberty” cop-out was rather irksome.
Would I have preferred Fort Roy Benavidez? Yes. But I’m not losing any sleep over the reversion to “Fort Bragg,” either. Although, if they were going to do this, it would have made more sense to rename it after Braxton Bragg’s cousin, Union Brigadier General Edward S. Bragg, a distinguished soldier who later served as a Congressman and U.S. Ambassador.
