The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included a bipartisan agreement made by the House and Senate members requiring that the Secretary of Defense implement a plan submitted by a commission to rename 10 military bases that are named after Confederate Generals. The 10 bases that will be renamed are Ft. Bragg in North Carolina; Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk in Louisiana; Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia; Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Lee and Fort Pickett in Virginia, Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Rucker in Alabama. The army bases were named by the War Department during World War I and II and are now getting a name change.
Part of the 2021 NDAA was that a commission is formed to plan the 10 Army bases’ renaming. The NDAA stated that the commission would be composed of eight members, four of which would be appointed by the Secretary of Defense and appointed no later than 45 days after the bill passes. On January 8, 2021, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller announced the appointment of four people to the commission assigned with the task of renaming these military bases. Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller selected Sean McLean of California, Joshua Whitehouse of New Hampshire, Anne G. Johnston of North Carolina and Earl Matthews of Pennsylvania to the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America. The other four members will be selected by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees’ ranking members.
The NDAA provides specifics on the meetings and reports required as part of the commission. Per the bill, the commission must hold its first meeting within the first 60 days after the bill becomes the law and must brief the Armed Services Committee on the current plans no later than October 1st, 2021. The commission has been given three years to complete the plan for the name changes. By October 1, 2022, the commission must brief their plan of the costs associated with the “renaming or removing the names, symbols, displays, monuments, or paraphernalia that commemorate the Confederate States of American or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America” including the procedures for the renaming. For further details about the Commission can be read in Section 377 of the National Defense Authorization Act here in the Senate version of the bill. While H.R. 6395 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 has become a public law as of 01/01/2021, the full public text is not currently available as of this writing.
This is BS!
The freaking cancel culture invasion in action.
That will make things so much better! How did we survive!
Although it is very doubtful, the Defense Department needs to publish the total cost that will be spent in relationship to making changes of renaming the 10 Army bases. This includes, new signs at the installation, printed material with the new installation names, all of the other misc. items that have to be changed on buildings and signs. It will not be cheap to be political correct.
Although it is very doubtful, the Defense Department needs to publish the total cost that will be spent in relationship to making changes of renaming the 10 Army bases. This includes, new signs at the installation, printed material with the new installation names, all of the other misc. items that have to be changed on buildings and signs. It will not be cheap to be political correct.
I have not posted any comment like this before so please post this comment.
This is so stupid!
I agreed. How did we ever survive all those years.
These men were declared United States veterans in 1958. Keep purging and there will be no United States.
Purge seems accurate.
Just leave it alone!!! It is the name of a place to most people. Doubt there are many that really stop and dwell on who it was named after, all those years ago. People sadly have short term memories.
Plus, bottom line: it’s NOT cost effective to change everything!!!
First it was statues – then they went to schools and federal buildings; now they are at the front gates of our military installations.
As the purge of America continues and our history is erased; and as schools are being purge of all western history – will there be a country left in 12 months known as THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA ???
Lets just change all the names of the Military Bases now. That way we wont have to deal with the special interests groups driving the removal of monuments and erasing our History. We can learn everything in the library. I suggest naming the installations: Military Base One, Military Base Two, Military Base Three, etc. We will save a lot of money in the future by doing this, and it will give our kids more of an opportunity to learn history through reading it on the computer or going to the library. Oh, and we can rename all the libraries to : Library One, Library Two, etc. And dont forget to rename the Presidential libraries named after the Presidents.
Presidents Library One, Presidents Library Two, etc.
Then somewhere along the line Base Two, Three, etc, will most certainly consider themselves lower than Base One…… the insanity never ends.
That is so totally disgusting, changing our history to satisfy a few when so many died in these wars. Maybe they think it is time to change the United States of America also.
I have been pretty tolerant during my 66 years on this planet – with 30 of them spent in the Air Force. The PC culture is turning me into a very negative person with hatred building daily. I’m so disgusted with our politicians – they are taking actions to please a small number of people.
Completely stupid and irrational. Ignorance has no bounds.
This is total BS. It’s because of millennials they are making these changes. Grow up. The name is a historical value and part of my military service. I hate that people can’t let the past go. It was not part of are heritage to hate those names. It is all in the past. I will still call them by the original names.
No, this is part of our history. What a waste of time and money.
I served proudly on many of those, Why in the world do they want to take down memories that I have. The war between the states was so long ago that young people know nothing about it. This is a stupid, costly move.. Our country is in a terrible situation!!
This is the absolute dumbest idea the democrats have ever come up with. I can think of thousands of other things that would actually serve the country instead of this. It defies logic. This country is currently being run by complete and utter morons.
My opinion is this, if they want to change the name of these Army Bases, why don’t they leave it up to the soldiers and civilians who have worked, trained, live and/or presently stationed there, if they want to change the name or not. If those individuals want a name change, then they can decide to do it. Not some politician who probably has never served in the Armed Force, let alone the Army.. Maybe, it’s time to let those politicians know what the people who lived, worked, and trained there think of their idea. Just my opinion mind you.
This is absolutely ridiculous!! Can’t begin to imagine what this will cost the tax payers!?
You cannot erase history or change it to suit the present administration’ you have branded all those for the confederacy as criminals and unworthy to be remembered. this is the dumbest idea the democrats have come up with. You cannot judge others for their actions and beliefs 150 years later. You have to back to see or know the culture they lived in. The old adage that winners write history to satisfy themselves.
I truly feel sorry for ALL AMERICANS! We are supposed to learn from history, not make the same mistakes! Does this make everyone love one another? Is all the hatred gone? We, as a people, evolve, or so I am led to believe. Is this really going to solve all of our problems? Let’s get the schools open and people back to work! Spending our tax dollars to do something like this is irresponsible. I guess American history is not taught in our schools anymore. Yes, I have opinions, as do most of us. I also do not like razor wire on top of a fence surrounding the Whitehouse!!! Pray tell, what are the occupants afraid of, the American people, who they are supposed to be representing? This actually feels as if we are in Germany prior to Hitler selling his “bill of goods”! Wake up, smell the roses and get these people out of public office! Some of you wanted “change”! You got it ! Unfortunately we all have to deal with it right now. Four years is a long time to wait and so much damage can be done in that time.
I’m truly disgusted….by all of the comments I’ve read here. This country is for ALL Americans! I serve for ALL Americans! Not just the white or privileged ones. Changing the name, does not erase history. That’s just ignorant of anyone to think that. Fighting for the confederacy meant that you did not view human life as equal to yours, unless they had pale skin color. And you want to memorialize that? Disgusting! A statue or being named after a base or building is a place of honor for EVERYONE to look up to. America’s deep dark history has to come to light if there’s ever a chance for healing. America has spoken and the horror of 45 is over. Thank God we have a President who is not all in it for himself. Think about it….45 and his family stole over a billion in tax dollars. And now you’re complaining about maybe a few million to change names? Shameful! Now suck it up, and drive on!
I think it is an unnecessary expense, when many people do not even have to eat in this pandemic. And the politicians spending the money on irrelevant things.
Recent events and changing attitudes in this republic has led to an emerging debate into the prospect of changing the names of installations and vessels that bear names associated with the Confederacy. A commission has been appointed to provide recommendations to the Secretary of Defense for this very purpose. As one would expect, this has initiated a firestorm of debate on the nature of the civil war. A debate that has led many to pontificate as to the causes of the war ranging from Slavery, States Rights, and economic disparities.
I, like many am prepared to offer my opinion and will eagerly engage in such debates depending of course on the specific charge levied, however, I wish at this time to address the narrowly focused charge that those who fought for the confederacy were traitors. I shall try to keep my augments probative to this single claim.
The word traitor has been used at least twice in articles published by military.com. These articles included several reasons for the war and none to show how the bases were named, in absence of a direct charge, I can only offer up few points.
I assume that the majority for this augment are based upon the claim that these individuals led an armed conflict against their parent country or advocated for secession. If so, then we need to broaden the scope of installations to be reviewed to include most of the founding fathers and every single officer of the continental army. They too led an armed insurrection against their parent nation with some having received their military training by serving in the British army. Of course, that would mean that we should pardon and venerate Benedict Arnold for remaining true to his oath. Using this logic, we should be praising Arnold and condemning Washington.
The charge of treason because of the act of secession is also hollow. There were secession movements in the north over the Louisiana Purchase (1803), Jefferson’s embargo against Great Britain and France in 1807 and the following war of 1812 in which several New England states even refused to provide troops to the federal government. This move towards secession was again renewed with the Annexation of Texas (1848) and having to enforce the infamous Fugitive slave act of 1850. In each of these, the states remained through last minute compromises. Heck to underscore the norths hypocrisy of the secession argument it allowed West Virginia to secede in 1863 and join the union. This right to secede was even confirmed by the Supreme court in 1866. Lincoln in a speech on January 12, 1848 stated that secession was “a most valuable and most sacred right”.
Furthermore, it needs to be noted that even in 1860 most of the population still identified more with their state than a central union. During the war units were often given state identifiers like the 1st Ohio, 3rd Pennsylvania, not just simply 1st inf reg or 3rd Art. I mention this to help reinforce the point that most people both north and south were tied to their state, which surely weighed heavily on those that, chose the south before the war started. Others had the choice thrust upon them when they woke to an army marching through their farms or saw their ports closed to shipping through blockade. It was the Union army that first marched army across state lines to include states that didn’t even secede like Maryland, Kentucky, Kansas and Minnesota.
Just look at the names given to the larger formations, Army of the Cumberland, Army of Ohio, Army of the Potomac. Even today, National Guard units that are loosely affiliated by state don’t bear state names.
It’s crucial to remember that not a single confederate officer was tried at the end of the war for treason or even sedition, not Robert Lee or even Jefferson Davis. And this was when passions still ran quite hot. The only Confederate officer to be formally tried after the war was Henry Wirz the commander of P.O.W. Camp Sumter (aka Andersonville) and even that was for war crimes not treason. The professional soldiers that left the federal army to fight for the confederacy were giving up everything, a potential career, current standing and in most cases their homes were either occupied like Lee who was never to return to his or had them put to the torch by a warfare that included the pillaging and theft of personal property.
The bases, places and things named after confederate soldiers were named to honor their bravery or military prowess, not in some conspicuous fading hope that the social conventions of the day would be enshrined. That’s why their battlefield exploits continued to be studied worldwide to include our service academies. It is why President Eisenhower kept a picture of Robert Lee by his bed and he wasn’t alone. Robert E. Lee was had been publicly venerated by no less than 8 other US presidents, Ford, Carter, Johnson, Truman, Kennedy, both Roosevelts and Reagan, not to mention Booker Washington and Winston Churchill. It might also have played a role in the decision that on May 23, 1958 the US congress approved USC Public Law 85-425, Sec 410, Confederate soldiers, sailors, and Marines that fought in the Civil war were made U.S. Veterans in regards to pensions by this act. This made all Confederate Army/ Navy/ Marine Veterans equal to U.S. Veterans. Let me reiterate that again those that fought for the confederacy are not considered traitors BY AN ACT OF CONGRESS.
I have tried to limit myself to the charge of treason, but since this debate stems mostly from the larger discussion of slavery, I am compelled to address it at least in a small way. I could devote quite a few lines to its place in history but for the purpose of this letter I will keep it short and simple.
If slavery was the cause for the civil war, then why wasn’t it abolished at the start of hostilities? How hard would it had to pass when only one southern member remained in Congress? At a minimum slavery could have been abolished in the states of the union, yet the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed no one, was issued 18 months after the start of the war and the 14th Amendment was not ratified until July 9, 1868, a whole 3 years after the north had complete control of south.
Sincerely,
Cade Logue MSG-Ret