Recent years have seen historic landmarks and names now become political, often with activists demanding their names be altered or destroyed altogether. Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL) is now responding to a similar call to rename Fort Bragg, calling it a, "manufactured issue."
In 2020 activists responded to the controversial death of George Floyd by demanding Civil War-era statues be taken down or renamed. This resulted in nearly 100 Confederate monuments being taken down, and now only 700 remain. This strategy has seemingly set a new standard for political activism, which is now leading to even US government monuments or even buildings being placed under the same scrutiny.
The legendary Fort Bragg U.S. Army Base was instituted in the Fall of 1918 as Camp Bragg, and named after North Carolina General Braxton Bragg. General Bragg served in the Mexican-American War in 1847. The name was seen as fitting for over a century as Bragg was known for his artillery actions during his service and the base was initially an artillery training center.
Despite calls to rename the base have been successful, changing the name to, "Fort Liberty." The groundwork to rename the base comes from a 2021 piece of legislation, now-law that demands any monument, symbol, or displays that honors any person affiliated with the Confederate States, the Department of Defense must remove the title.
The name became official this week, which caused severe backlash from Congressional Republicans. Representative Waltz, who himself is a former U.S. Army Green Beret, stated with Fox News' Harris Faulkner, "This is manufactured by activists, by politicians, and by the media. I've served for 27 years and not once, not once, did I hear any of my Green Berets, anyone complain about it, say they were offended, say they weren't going to stay in the Army because of Fort Bragg."
Waltz added that despite the very diverse group of men and women he served with, the situation was, "quite the opposite," adding, "they're proud of where they served. Saying that I was a Fort Bragg soldier is a point of pride. Not only is it a manufactured issue, it's a massive waste of taxpayer time and money."
