Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense in President Donald Trump’s administration, changed the name of the Army Base Fort Liberty back to its original name of Fort Bragg, which had been removed in 2023.
When its original name was removed, it was part of an effort to rename bases named after Confederate officers, following racial justice protests after the death of George Floyd in 2020, a black man who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, as reported by USA Today.
The Department of Defense website released a video showing Secretary Hegseth signing the order to change the name to Fort Bragg, while saying “that’s right, Bragg is back.” He also added that “this change underscores the legacy of the installation to recognize those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation.”
Although for the past two years, the base was called Fort Liberty, people still called it Fort Bragg.
Fort Liberty, now renamed Fort Bragg, is one of the largest military bases in the world, and the largest in the United States. It was founded in 1918 and is located in North Carolina, covering an area of 650.2 km² with a population of 770,811 inhabitants in 2021.
Trump had already hinted at the idea of returning Fort Bragg to its original name.
USA Today reported that President Donald Trump had already hinted at the idea of renaming the base to its former name of Fort Bragg. In 2024, he expressed during his campaign in North Carolina that he would restore the original name to this base.
The aforementioned outlet recalls that “Congress in 2021 approved legislation that prohibits the naming of bases after anyone who voluntarily served or held leadership in the Confederate States of America, the separatist republic of the southern states that fought against the United States in the 19th-century Civil War.”
However, the news agency mentioned that Hegseth renamed the base in honor of First Class Soldier Roland L. Bragg, who, he said, was a hero of World War II who received the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional bravery during the Battle of the Bulge.