The Naming Commission for the U.S. Military has made recommendations for changes to nine Army forts across the country, including Fort Polk in Louisiana.
The commission, which is tasked to provide Congress with new names for U.S. military bases and other Department of Defense assets originally named in commemoration of the Confederacy and its leaders, announced today its recommendations for nine Army installations.
Those recommendations are below:
- Fort Benning, Ga. – rename as Fort Moore after Lt. Gen. Hal and Julia Moore.
- Fort Bragg, N.C. – rename as Fort Liberty after the value of liberty.
- Fort Gordon, Ga. – rename as Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower.
- Fort A.P. Hill, Va. – rename as Fort Walker after Dr. Mary Walker.
- Fort Hood, Texas – rename as Fort Cavazos after Gen. Richard Cavazos.
- Fort Lee, Va. – rename as Fort Gregg-Adams after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.
- Fort Pickett, Va. – rename as Fort Barfoot after Tech. Sgt. Van T. Barfoot.
- Fort Polk, La. – rename as Fort Johnson after Sgt. William Henry Johnson.
- Fort Rucker, Ala. – rename as Fort Novosel after Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr.
The Commission visited the installations last year for listening sessions with military commanders and community leaders to gain feedback on their process, preferences for new names and an understanding of local sensitivities. Over the course of those initial sessions and a public comment period via its website that closed December 1, 2021, the commission received more than 34,000 submissions related to naming activities, which included for consideration of 3,670 unique names of individuals, locations, values and more.
Fort Polk, in Louisiana, would be renamed Fort Johnson, after Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Army in World War I. Read more about Johnson here.
Between January and April, the Naming Commission developed a short-list of potential new names for the nine installations before re-engaging the same community groups through virtual listening sessions to gather more input on their naming preferences. At the start of May, the commission met for extensive deliberations that resulted in the final name selections.
Per the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which mandated its formation, the commission – comprised of eight volunteers selected by the Secretary of Defense and Congress – must submit its final report to Congress by Oct. 1 with recommendations to remove, rename or modify “names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia” within the Department of Defense that commemorate the Confederacy.
In addition, the commission is reviewing any “base, installation, street, building, facility, aircraft, ship, plane, weapon, equipment or any other property owned or controlled by the Department of Defense.”
Detailed information regarding each of the recommended names is available on the Naming Commission website at www.thenamingcommission.gov.
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