Hegseth renames North Carolina military base Fort Roland L. Bragg

By TARA COPP, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed an bid Monday restoring the sanction of a storied peculiar operations forces basal backmost to Fort Bragg. The North Carolina basal was renamed Fort Liberty successful 2023 arsenic portion of a nationalist effort nether the Biden medication to region names that honored Confederate leaders.

The base’s archetypal namesake, Gen. Braxton Bragg, was a Confederate wide from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing cardinal Civil War battles, contributing to the Confederacy’s downfall.

But the Pentagon spokesperson said Hegseth was renaming the basal to grant Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, who helium said was a World War II leader who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional courageousness during the Battle of the Bulge.

“This alteration underscores the installation’s bequest of recognizing those who person demonstrated bonzer work and sacrifice for the nation,” spokesperson John Ullyot said successful a statement.

The prime of the World War II backstage archetypal people got astir a instrumentality prohibiting the subject from naming a basal aft a Confederate leader.

In a video helium posted connected X announcing that helium was renaming the base, Hegseth said: “That’s right. Bragg is back!”

In reality, the basal had inactive been wide known arsenic Bragg, the caller sanction having not truly taken hold. On Hegseth’s archetypal authoritative time arsenic defence caput helium made a constituent of calling it Fort Bragg successful his archetypal speech with reporters.