Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signs a memorandum to rename Fort Liberty, N.C., to Fort Roland L. Bragg, while aboard a military aircraft en route to Germany, Feb. 10, 2025. Credit: Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza, DOD

Defense Secretary Pete Hedgseth has approved reverting the name of military base Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg.

Hedgseth approved a memorandum on Monday to change the name, but with a different namesake.

Located just west of Fayetteville, the base was initially named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. It’s one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with more than 52,000 military personnel.

A naming commission set up by Congress to study rename military bases described Bragg as “considered one of the worst generals of the Civil War” and “widely disliked in the pre-Civil War U.S. Army and within the Confederate Army by peers and subordinates alike.”

Congress proposed renaming the installation and eight other bases during President Joe Biden’s tenure. The Fayetteville base’s name was changed to Fort Liberty in June 2023 following a congressional decision to rename installations honoring Confederate generals.

The efforts were part of the National Defense Authorization Act passed at the end of the first Trump administration. Then-President Donald Trump vetoed the bill, but Congress voted 81-13 to override the decision in January 2021.

Hegseth on Monday instructed the Army to revert back to the Bragg name, but paying tribute to a different individual: Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II veteran “who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge,” according to defense department press secretary John Ullyot.

“This change underscores the installation’s legacy of recognizing those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation,” Ullyot said in a statement.

The action to return the bases to their former Confederate names would require approval from Congress.

It would also require millions of dollars for signage. The cost of changing the base signage from Bragg to Liberty less than two years ago was pegged at more than $6 million. It’s unclear how much this change might cost.

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-09) praised the announcement, sharing on social media: “Fort Bragg is BACK! Thank you, @SecDef!”

Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and former Fox News host, has previously voiced strong opposition to removing the names of Confederate generals from military bases, calling the efforts “a sham,” “garbage,” and “crap” in various media appearances between 2021 and 2024, according to CNN.