Name: Army ’open’ to renaming bases named after Confederate leaders, including Georgia’s Fort Gordon, Benning
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Army ’open’ to renaming bases named after Confederate leaders, including Georgia’s Fort Gordon, Benning

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Augusta ChronicleView CommentsTop Army officials are considering renaming bases named after Confederate leaders, including Fort Gordon, after ongoing protests that have spotlighted racial issues in America., Army Col. Sunset Belinsky said Monday evening.reported that Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy signaled their willingness to discuss scrapping Confederate names on forts across the country.They are open to having a bi-partisan dialogue on the renaming bases, according to Belinsky. The Army has 10 posts named after Confederate generals across the south: Fort Gordon and Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Bragg, N.C., forts Pickett, A.P. Hill and Lee in Va.; Fort Polk and Camp Beauregard in Louisiana; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Rucker, Ala.Fort Gordon, formerly Camp Gordon, is named after Confederate Gen. John Brown Gordon. Camp Gordon was created in July 1941 as a World War II training camp for the 4th and 26th Infantry Divisions, and the 10th Armored Division.According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Gordon was rumored to be a Grand Dragon in the Ku Klux Klan. Gordon was thought to be the titular head of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia, according to his Wikipedia bio, but his role was never proven conclusively.During congressional testimony in 1871, Gordon denied any involvement with the Klan, but did acknowledge he was associated with a secret "peace police" organization whose sole purpose was the "preservation of peace,“ the bio states. Gordon was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from 1873–79 and later became the 53rd governor of Georgia in 1886, according to the Britannica. After serving one term as governor, he went back to the U.S. Senate from 1890-1897.Geralyn Smith Noah, Director of Public Affairs for Fort Gordon, released a brief statement about the possible renaming: “What I can say is that Fort Gordon supports our Army senior leaders‘ decision to be part of this national conversation.”McCarthy, a former Army Ranger, indicated his willingness to discuss the change after weeks of protests that have spread across the country following the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who pleaded for his life as a white police officer knelt on his neck.The Army has resisted calls in the past to change names on the installations named after officers who rebelled and fought against the United States in the Civil War.But times and attitudes are swiftly evolving as the nation heads into its second week of protests following Floyd's death, calls for police reforms grow and locations across the country announce plans to take down or remove Confederate memorials.McCarthy himself and the military as a whole became embroiled in controversy surrounding police and National Guard response to protesters last week in Washington, DC. McCarthy oversees National Guard units in Washington because it does not have a governor.He acknowledged Sunday that National Guard soldiers were involved in the eviction of mostly peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square prior to President Trump's appearance at a nearby church. Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accompanied Trump.No Guardsmen used force on the protesters, McCarthy said. Another incident involving National Guard helicopters buzzing protesters in another part of Washington is under investigation, he said. The Pentagon came close to ordering federal troops to confront protesters, according to McCarthy.The incident prompted several former high-ranking Pentagon officials to warn that the military was being drawn into a politics, risking a constitutional crisis. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis blasted Trump, saying he sought to divide not unite Americans.Within days, senior military officials acknowledged racial inequities in the military. Before the Lafayette Square incident, USA Today reported that young black airmen were twice as likely to face punishment than their white counterparts.USA Today reports were used in this articleView Comments

Augusta ChronicleView CommentsTop Army officials are considering renaming bases named after Confederate leaders, including Fort Gordon, after ongoing protests that have spotlighted racial issues in America., Army Col. Sunset Belinsky said Monday evening.reported that Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy signaled their willingness to discuss scrapping Confederate names on forts across the country.They are open to having a bi-partisan dialogue on the renaming bases, according to Belinsky. The Army has 10 posts named after Confederate generals across the south: Fort...

Army ’open’ to renaming bases named after Confederate leaders, including Georgia’s Fort Gordon, Benning

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