Jun.12

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Dem 47

   

GOP 53

Trump Renames the Army Bases Biden Changed

A number of U.S. military bases, especially in the South, were named after Confederate generals. Joe Biden decided that it was wrong to name military bases after people who actively waged war against the United States. There is no Fort Hitler or Fort Yamamoto. There was a Fort Pickett, named after Confederate Maj. Gen. George Pickett, famous for charging at Gettysburg. Biden ordered Fort Pickett renamed Fort Barfoot after Tech. Sgt. Van Barfoot, who received the medal of honor for heroism in Italy during WW II.

One of Donald Trump's guiding principles is that everything Biden did is wrong and needs to be reversed. So he decided to go back to the original fort names, just to spite Biden.

But Trump was apparently a little nervous about re-naming the forts after the Confederate generals, even though that is very much what (some of) his base wants. He'd open himself up to criticism along the lines of "of course an insurrectionist likes other insurrectionists," plus Congress passed a resolution back in 2020 calling for the renaming. While Trump could have shrugged off the former (as he often does with other such criticism) and while he could have dared Congress to take him to court (as he often does with... well, everything), he had his underlings look for other soldiers with the same last name as the dead Confederate general and then named the forts after those other soldiers. For example, Fort Barfoot (née Fort Pickett) will now be Fort Pickett again, only named after 1st Lt. Vernon Pickett, who received the Distinguished Service Cross for throwing grenades at machine gunners while pinned down by enemy fire during World War II. In a way, you can view this as TACO. Trump could have renamed Fort Barfoot after George Pickett again, but he didn't want to take the flak that would have accompanied that. So, he took the weaselly way out.

Here are the other six forts that Trump has ordered renamed:

• Fort Gordon: The fort is a large Army installation near Augusta, GA, with 16,000 military personnel and 13,500 civilian personnel. It was named after Maj. Gen. John Brown Gordon, a Confederate general. Joe Biden had it renamed Fort Eisenhower. Trump ordered it renamed for Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, who fought bravely during the battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993, where he died defending wounded crew members after a helicopter crash.
  
  
• Fort Hill: This is a training center near Bowling Green, VA. It focuses on arms training and is used by all branches of the Armed Forces. It was originally named for Confederate Lt. General Ambrose Powell Hill. Biden renamed it Fort Walker, after Mary Edwards Walker, a doctor who received the Medal of Honor for treating soldiers during the Civil War. Trump renamed it for Lt. Col. Edward Hill for heroism during the Civil War. This means that, technically, the original name will not be restored, because the original name was actually Fort A.P. Hill.
  
  
• Fort Hood: This massive Army post of 250 square miles near Killeen, TX, was used during WW II to train tank destroyers. It was designed to hold almost 90,000 soldiers. It was named for Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood, an impetuous and ineffective general. Biden renamed it for Gen. Richard Cavazos, the Army's first four-star Latino general. Trump couldn't stand this, so he renamed it for Col. Robert Hood, recognizing him for heroism under fire in France during World War I.
  
  
• Fort Lee: This base in Prince George County, VA, holds the Army Quartermaster School, Army Ordnance School, Army Transportation School, and other Army units. It was named for—wait for it—Robert E. Lee. Biden renamed it Fort Gregg-Adams. Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg was a logistics leader. Lt. Col. Charity Adams was the first Black woman to lead a Black female unit in World War II. Trump renamed it for Pvt. Fitz Lee, who received the Medal of Honor for rescuing wounded comrades during the Spanish-American War. One wonders if Trump and Pete Hegseth know that Fitz Lee was... Black. Dunno, sounds pretty DEI to us.
  
  
• Fort Polk: This very large (309 sq. mile) base is located in Vernon Parish, LA. It hosts many different Army units. It is also full of archaeological treasures and the Army has spent a fair amount of money trying to locate and preserve them. It was originally named after Confederate Gen. Leonidas Polk. Biden renamed it for Sgt. William Henry Johnson, who received the Medal of Honor in WW I. Johnson was Black. Trump is renaming it for Gen. James Polk, who led combat missions under fire in WW II and later was head of the Army in Europe.
  
  
• Fort Rucker: This base in Dale County, AL, hosts the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. It trains Army pilots and some Air Force pilots. It was named for Confederate Col. Edmund Rucker. Joe Biden renamed it for Chief Warrant Officer Michael Novosel, a Medal of Honor Army pilot who served in WW II and Vietnam. Trump is renaming it for Capt. Edward Rucker, who risked his life flying behind enemy lines in France during WW I, for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross.

If a Democrat is elected president in 2028, will he or she rename all the forts again? Will renaming forts (and, for that matter, boats) be something every new president does? Probably not. Some of Trump's picks were a little far-fetched, but all of them had distinguished military careers. Trump probably didn't have much against Biden's honorees, he just wanted to erase Biden's marks. The intellectual model here is a squirrel marking its territory by spraying urine over that of the squirrel whose territory it previously was. (V)