Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed an order Monday restoring the name of a storied special operations forces base back to Fort Bragg. The North Carolina base was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023 as part of a national effort under the Biden administration to remove names that honored Confederate leaders.
The base’s original namesake, Gen. Braxton Bragg, was a Confederate general from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles, contributing to the Confederacy’s downfall.
But the Pentagon spokesman said Hegseth was renaming the base to honor a different Bragg, Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, who he said was 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,” spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement.
The choice of the World War II private first class got around a law prohibiting the military from naming a base after a Confederate leader.
In a video he posted on X announcing that he was renaming the base, Hegseth said, “That’s right. Bragg is back!”
In reality, the base had still been widely known as Bragg, the new name having not really taken hold. On Hegseth’s first official day as defense secretary he made a point of calling it Fort Bragg in his first exchange with reporters.
Tara Copp is a Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press. She was previously Pentagon bureau chief for Sightline Media Group.
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