6 Army bases named after Confederate leaders get dates for new names

Several U.S. Army bases will officially get their new names in the coming months as the military seeks to redesignate bases that currently honor Confederate leaders.

Driving the news: Fort Hood, the major Army base in central Texas, will be redesignated as Fort Cavazos on May 9, the base announced Friday.

• The new name honors Gen. Richard Cavazos, the first Latino four-star general and first Latino brigadier general. The base is currently named for John Bell Hood, a Confederate general.
• Fort Pickett in Virginia was renamed Fort Barfoot on Friday.

Why it matters: The Naming Commission, which was appointed by Congress, recommended nine different Army bases for redesignation back in May 2022.

• The committee proposed that nine U.S. Army bases be redesignated and remove all "names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia" that honor the Confederacy.

What's next: Fort Rucker in Alabama will be renamed Fort Novosel on April 10 as a way to honor Michael Novosel, an Army chief warrant officer who earned the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War.

• Fort Lee in Virginia will be renamed Fort Gregg-Adams on April 27. The base will be named in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg, a three-star general who served for 36 years, and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, the first Black officer in the Women's Army Auxillary Corps in World War II and one of the highest-ranking female officers in the war.
• Gregg, 94, will become the only living person in modern Army history to have a base named after him.

• Fort Benning in Georgia will be renamed Fort Moore on May 11 to honor Hal Moore, a U.S. commander during the Vietnam War and Julia Moore, an Army Community Service advocate.
• And on June 2, Fort Bragg in North Carolina will become Fort Liberty.

Yes, but: Georgia's Fort Gordon, Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, and Fort Polk in Louisiana do not have dates yet for their renaming, per the Military Times.

Go deeper: See the proposed new names for Army bases that honor Confederate soldiers

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Fort Lee, not Fort A.P. Hill, will be renamed Fort Gregg-Adams.