OPINION:
I find it disgraceful that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has the audacity to rename iconic army forts, especially Fort Bragg, in an attempt to placate those who think the removal of Confederate names will somehow provide racial healing (“‘To me, it’s still going to be Fort Bragg’: Name change for iconic Army base touches a nerve,” Web, June 1). Camp Liberty instead of Fort Bragg? Are they kidding?
To make matters worse, let’s look at the people Secretary Austin appointed to this Confederate renaming commission, shall we? Retired Navy Adm. Michelle Howard, retired Marine Gen. Bob Neller, American Enterprise Institute Director of Foreign & Defense Policy Studies Kori Schake and retired Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule. Of the four, one is from the U.S. Navy, one is from the U.S. Marine Corps, one is a civilian and one — just one — is a U.S. Army veteran. All have significant resumes, but what relationship do they have to Fort Bragg? Can you imagine the dust-up that would ensure if an army general were put in charge of renaming Marine Corps facilities? Would Parris Island become Camp Gomer Pyle?
In addition to these social-justice commissioners, we also have the nominations from the House and Senate Armed Services committees. As far as I can tell, none of the commissioners has ever set foot at Fort Bragg, nor does any one of them seem to have any sense of the significance of the iconic installation. “Fort Liberty” sounds like a Saturday morning children’s program. ( And isn’t the word liberty a navy term for a vacation?)
If a name change were indeed in order, it would be more appropriate to nominate a distinguished U.S. Army veteran such as Gen. Jim Gavin, the father of the Airborne. Or perhaps Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York of the 82nd Division.
And if Lt. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, thinks that young “kids” in the army aren’t concerned about the past, maybe that’s his fault and the fault of U.S Army guidance. This whole exercise is about the past, at a cost of $6 million taxpayer dollars for Fort Bragg alone. With leadership like this, no wonder the services are not reaching their recruitment goals.
EMMETT LAUER
HELEN D. KOELLE
Silver Spring, Maryland
Please read our comment policy before commenting.