PETE HEGSETH WANTS TO RESTORE MILITARY BASE NAMES HONORING CONFEDERATE GENERALS
Pete Hegseth has repeatedly stated his desire to rename U.S. military bases that had their titles changed because of their ties to the Confederacy. Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, has expressed that he wants the old military base names back because the changes made were unnecessary and pointless.
Hegseth talked about the initiative of renaming military bases and said that those efforts were done in a bad light and shouldn’t have been approved in the first place. Hegseth strongly believes that these actions do not align with what the military stood for. He also thinks that this is just a political ploy from the left side to change the American institution to its own image.
Hegseth Advocates for Restoring Original Military Base Names
The National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed at the end of the first Trump administration, changed the names of nine U.S. military bases that had previously been named after Confederate leaders between 2022 and 2023. In January 2021, the law was passed after Congress overrode Trump's original veto, which was partially motivated by his disapproval of the renaming clause.
As secretary of defense, Hegseth might advocate for base names to be changed back to their original Confederate names. However, Congress has the final say on this matter.
Hegseth has also criticized other cultural shifts in the military, including allowing women to serve in combat roles and allowing LGBT service members to serve openly. Once his appointment as Secretary of Defense is confirmed, these issues will surely be the center of his interest.
Hegseth Talks About Renaming of Fort Liberty in His Book Tour
Hegseth has always been vocal about his belief that changing the military base names destroys history and legacy. He went into further detail about this in 2024 while on a book tour to promote "The War on Warriors."
While promoting his book, he stated in a podcast interview about Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) that the country should go back to its former state. He went on to say, "Legacy is important," and that Fort Liberty ought to be renamed Fort Bragg.
Named for Braxton Bragg, a slave owner and Confederate general who lost almost every battle he fought in during the Civil War, Fort Bragg is one of the biggest Army bases in the United States. According to a name panel established to research base renaming, Bragg was widely disliked by peers and subordinates in the pre-Civil War U.S. Army. He is also regarded as one of the worst generals of the Civil War within the Confederate Army.
Originally known as Camp Bragg, the base opened during World War I and was named by the locals after the General, who was the only North Carolina commander to serve in the Civil War. In 2023, the base was renamed Fort Liberty.
Trump and Hegseth's Cultural Counter-Revolution
Trump has consistently opposed the renaming of bases that honor Confederate leaders. Trump reaffirmed that he is adamant about not wanting politically driven attempts to erase history during the legislation of renaming bases. He thinks that what is taking place is a disgrace to the nation's enormous advancement.
Hegseth's comments are consistent with incoming Trump officials' larger resistance to a variety of cultural initiatives that they see to be unduly progressive. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the two billionaires entrusted with cutting government waste, are anticipated to suggest an agency-wide reduction in funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Hegseth provided a long list of DEI-related initiatives that he claims Trump instructed him to eliminate at the Pentagon in an interview with Megyn Kelly in early December. Hegseth also ordered Kelly to clean the house of the supposed “woke crap” infesting it. He added that he wants to get rid of polarizing topics such as climate change, genderism, the DEI, and critical racial theory.
Hegseth Condemns Focus on America's Past Sins
Hegseth argued in a 2021 interview with the son of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that attempts to rename U.S. military bases were part of a movement that saw the U.S. only in light of its historical offenses.
He questioned why America is only being viewed through the prism that it was founded on the backs of slaves and taken from Native Americans. He didn’t agree that anyone who owned slaves or participated in anything that didn't advance far enough in their period should be expelled.
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