(JustPatriots.com)- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved renaming nine military bases that memorialize Confederate officers, the Department of Defense (DOD) stated on October 6.
The bases will be given new names by January 2024 at the latest, the DOD stated in a press release.
The decision was made after the analysis was finished on September 19 by the Naming Commission, which was established by Congress last year to plan to remove Confederate-related “names, symbols, displays, monuments, or paraphernalia” that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America.
Eight volunteers who Congress chose and the defense secretary make up the commission.
Nine Army facilities with names honoring the Confederacy and its leaders were discovered after 18 months of research that included “extensive interviews with academics, historians, and the communities rooted in the sites in question.”
Austin wrote in a memo on the decision on Thursday that the Department’s buildings and sites are more than just essential national security resources. As prominent areas where Service members and their families work and reside, they are also potent public representations of our military.
“The names of these sites and facilities should serve as a source of inspiration for everyone who lives there, accurately reflect American history and ideals, and honor the finest aspects of the republic that we have all sworn to defend,” Austin wrote.
Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, Fort Lee in Virginia, Fort Pickett in Virginia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Polk in Louisiana, and Fort Rucker in Alabama are the military installations that will have their names changed.
According to Austin, the alterations “will give proud new names based in their local communities and that recognize American heroes whose valor, fortitude, and patriotism embody the very best of the United States military.”
2020 saw a wave of nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, which sparked calls to rename the bases.
The cost-prohibitive renaming process was opposed by former president Donald Trump, who vetoed the legislation that brought it about.
The naming commission estimates it will cost $21 million to rename the nine bases and $62.5 million to implement the report’s recommendations.
