Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Signs Order to Rename Fort Liberty Back to Fort Bragg, But There's a Catch

MIAMI - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum on Monday directing the Army to change Fort Liberty in North Carolina back to Fort Bragg in honor of Pfc. Roland L. Bragg.

"Bragg is back! I just signed a memorandum reversing the naming of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg," Hegseth said.

According to the memorandum posted by Fox News's Lucas Tomlinson, Roland L. Bragg served in the U.S. Army during World War II and earned a Silver Star for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity."

Bragg was also awarded a Purple Heart for wounds sustained during the Battle of the Bulge. The memo noted Bragg saved a wounded soldier's life by driving a stolen enemy ambulance 20 miles to an Allied hospital in Belgium.

Bragg, born in Maine, was stationed at Fort Bragg during the war.

During his service, Bragg was in the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division, and XVIII Airborne Corps.

Hegseth announced the name change aboard a U.S. C-17 flying from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to Stuttgart, Germany. Notably, Hegseth referred to Fort Liberty as Fort Bragg before his first day as Defense Secretary at the Pentagon.

"Fort Bragg has a long and proud history of equipping, training, and preparing our Soldiers to fight and prevail in an operational environment. This directive honors the personal courage and selfless service of all those who trained to fight and win our nation's wars, including Pfc. Bragg, and is in keeping with the installation's esteemed and storied history," the memo added.

Hegseth's latest move comes after he announced record-breaking recruiting numbers for the U.S. Army. The move also followed Trump's ending of DEI practices in the U.S. federal government to include the military.

The fort was originally named after Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general during the Civil War who also served as an Army general in the Mexican-American War.

In 1923, the fort was named in his honor and stood for 100 years. The Biden administration under Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin changed the name to Fort Liberty in 2023.

The name Fort Liberty was suggested by a Gold Star mother whose son died in Iraq in 2011.

President Donald Trump had promised to change the name back to Fort Bragg on the campaign trail, although a specific reference to Pfc. Roland Bragg was not mentioned.

Fort Bragg was one of nine bases changed in 2023 by the Naming Commission, a commission mandated by Congress to rid the stain of Confederate leaders. Trump had previously vetoed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act that authorized the commission before being overruled by Congress.

The largest military base in the U.S., Fort Bragg's original name change to Fort Liberty cost an estimated $6.3 million. It's unclear what the name change back to Fort Bragg will cost this time.