Georgia bases Fort Benning, Fort Gordon, among bases to be renamed

The federal Naming Commission announced last week that it has narrowed its list of base recommendations to include Fort Benning and Fort Gordon in Georgia. The original list included more than 34,000 military installations that are named in honor of Confederate figures

Among the other 87 candidates who have made the list are Dwight D. Eisenhower, George C. Marshall, Colin Powell and Harriet Tubman. The Naming Commission said it visited the military installations and met with military and community leaders last year to learn about their “preferences for new names and an understanding of local sensitivities. The Commissioners will engage those same groups via virtual listening sessions in coming weeks before deliberating on final name recommendations.”

As it solicited recommendations, the Commission had on its website that submissions should “appropriately reflect the courage, values and sacrifices of our diverse military men and women, with consideration given to the local or regional significance of names and their potential to inspire and motivate our service members.”

Following the violent deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery in southeast Georgia, Congress created the commission amid renewed protests for racial justice. The Pentagon is expected to act on the commission’s recommendations by 2024.

Fort Gordon, outside of Augusta, is named after John Gordon, who commanded half of Robert E. Lee’s army during the Civil War. Among the recommendations to replace Gordon’s name were Eisenhower and Tubman who both made the cut.

Fort Benning, which sits just outside of Columbus, was named after Henry Benning, a Confederate general. Among the recommendations submitted for renaming Fort Benning were Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who last year became the first African American recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan; Gen. Marshall, Gen. Powell and retired Col. Ralph Puckett, a Fort Benning hero who received the Medal of Honor last year for conspicuous gallantry during the Korean War.

The group is preparing its final recommendations which will be submitted Oct. 1 to Congress.