From Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty: Renaming to cost more than $6 million

FORT BRAGG — The cost to rename Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty will be about $6.37 million, according to a report released by the national Renaming Commission on Monday.

The commission was mandated by the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to identify assets, including Army installations, that commemorate the Confederacy.

Fort Bragg is currently named after Gen. Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general associated with being a slave owner and losing battles during the Civil War.

The local post is among nine Army installations slated for a name change.

In May, the commission announced that it was recommending renaming Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty.

The report, released by the commission Monday, details how it reached the name Fort Liberty; provided a short list of 11 names that were considered; and that it would cost $6.37 million to change signs, buildings, and assets around the post commemorating the confederacy.

The report says that Congress determined the Confederacy no longer warrants commemoration on Department of Defense assets by passing the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

More: Why the congressional Naming Commission chose Fort Liberty for Fort Bragg

“In the full view of history and with the nation’s steadfast dedication to equality under the law as a guiding light for all Americans, it seems certain that these current Confederate names will only become even more inappropriate over time,” the report states.

The renaming process

Between June and November 2021, members of the Commission traveled to all nine installations to engage with installation leaders, community leaders and off-post stakeholders for feedback on the renaming process, while considering “local sensitives.”

A website was also established to gain feedback from the American public, and more than 34,000 submissions were received from Sept. 4 to Dec. 1, 2021.

The commission reduced the list to 2,380 names, considering criteria such as how the person “distinguished themselves through courageous and valorous acts and/or through a life of service to the United States of America.”

The list was further reduced to 461 names in January, and substitute names like renaming Fort Bragg after Braxton Bragg’s Union cousin, Edwin Bragg, were not selected, according to the report.

Commissioners also asked for a short list of non-individual names like values or locations to be included in its final list of 10 candidates per installation.

More: How much will renaming Fort Bragg cost residents in the Fayetteville area?

From March to April, the commission met with commanders, military personnel, leaders and stakeholders through virtual listening sessions.

A list of 87 names was released to the public in March, and the commission again met with representatives of each installation for feedback.

“We were reminded that courage has no boundaries by categories of race, color, gender, religion, or creed,” retired Navy Admiral and Renaming Commission Chair Michelle Howard wrote in the report. “From privates to generals, we found hundreds of military members who exemplified the core values of the Army.”

The goal, Howard said, was to inspire today’s soldiers and local communities “with names or values that have meaning.”

The Commission recommended renaming Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty.

The report says that the Army was founded “to achieve the ideal of liberty,” the Union Army fought for the freedom of 4 million men, women and children during the Civil War and that Americans fought for liberty “against the forces of fascism” during World War II.

“Liberty continues to unite the Army. It features on crests, centers the Divisional song of the storied 82nd Airborne, and anchors the motto of the equally heralded Army Special Forces,” the report states.

Who Fort Bragg could have been named after

Other candidates considered for renaming Fort Bragg included: 1st Lt. Vernon Baker; Master Sgt. Roy Benavidez; Staff Sgt. Félix M. Conde-Falcón; Lt. Gen. James Gavin; Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart; Cpl. Rodolfo Hernández; Col. Robert Howard; Gen. Colin Powell; Gen. Matthew Ridgeway; and Gen. Roscoe Robinson.

• 1st Lt. Baker was a Wyoming native who led an infantry platoon against a Nazi-controlled area of northern Italy in 1945 and personally silenced three enemy machine guns, an observation post and a dugout.

Baker helped provide cover to evacuate his wounded soldiers and volunteered to lead a second advance through a minefield.

Baker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 1997.

After World War II, he remained in the Army and served with the 11th Airborne Division in Korea and commanded a company of white soldiers following Army integration.

• Master Sgt. Benavidez spent the majority of his career in the 82nd Airborne Division and in the Special Forces.

During his first tour of duty to Vietnam, Benavidez was injured by a landmine and told he’d never walk again.

After regaining mobility, he returned to Vietnam in 1968 to respond to a distress call of a small detachment under attack by a 1,000 soldier-strength enemy battalion.

Benavidez joined the six-hour battle, was wounded 37 times and thought to be dead until he signaled that he was alive by spitting.