Select military bases are renamed for $62.5 million

Photo Source: By Monica King - Retired Gen. Lloyd James Austin, III, Public Domain

Department of Defense (DOD) announced on Oct. 6 that nine military bases will be renamed to honor Confederate officers following approval by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

After completing its analysis on Sept. 19, the Naming Commission, established by Congress last year to remove Confederate-associated names, symbols, displays, monuments, or paraphernalia, announced its decision.

“The installations and facilities that our Department operates are more than vital national security assets. They are also powerful public symbols of our military, and of course, they are the places where our Service members and their families work and live,” Austin wrote in a memo on the decision on Thursday.

“I am committed to implementing all of the commission’s recommendations as soon as possible,” Austin said, adding that this will happen when a 90-day waiting period expires in December.

In addition to reflecting the history and values of the United States, the names of these installations and facilities should honor and acknowledge the best of the republic that we are all sworn to preserve.

According to the report, nine Army bases are named after the Confederacy and its leaders, following 18 months of research that included "extensive consultations with experts, historians, and communities associated with the bases."

7 October 2022