Fort Hood to officially become Fort Cavazos on Tuesday
Published: Sun, 05/07/23
Fort Hood to officially become Fort Cavazos on Tuesday
By David A. Bryant | Herald staff writer
FORT HOOD — Tuesday is the day. In a ceremony on Fort Hood at 9 a.m., III Corps and garrison leadership will formally present Fort Cavazos to the world and officially retire the designation named for a Confederate general.
While many opposed the name change — whether for historical reasons or for the costs implied with the change — the riots caused around the nation by the May 2020 death of George Floyd caused Congress to begin rethinking the optics of federal properties named after members of the Confederacy. At a time of racial unrest, military installations and properties named after proponents of slavery presented negative connotations.
In order to combat the unrest, Congress included in the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act — the annual law passed to fund the Department of Defense — a mandate to begin the process of renaming all federal properties, all of which were military, commemorating the Confederate States of America or Confederate soldiers.
The NDAA also authorized the forming of a commission, often referred to as the Naming Commission, formed of four representatives appointed by the Secretary of Defense and one appointee each by the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and House Committee on Armed Services.Then-President Donald Trump vetoed the NDAA partly because of the commission, but Congress overrode the veto and passed the bill into law.
The Naming Commission was tasked with visiting local leadership at each location to determine the impact the changes would have on local economies and to gather suggestions for possible name changes.
The Naming Commission came to Central Texas in June 2021 to meet with Fort Hood leadership, local mayors and council members and local minority chapters, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the League of United Latin American Citizens.
The meetings were by invitation only and the media was not allowed to attend.
“I think it’s time we look at it objectively and we consider the options,” said Domingo Garcia, national president of LULAC, during a news conference in Killeen following the meeting. “And we are working with the local community ... To find a consensus candidate that we all can vote for.”
Master Sgt. Roy Benavides and Gen. Richard Cavazos, who were both from Texas, are two names LULAC wanted to see Fort Hood named after. Benavides was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Vietnam by President Ronald Reagan. Cavazos, the first Hispanic four-star general in the Army’s history, was a former III Corps and Fort Hood commander. He also received two Distinguished Service Crosses — one for actions in the Korean War and one for actions in the Vietnam War.In May 2022, the Naming Commission provided its report to Congress of all locations that would need to be redesignated and the input received by local leaders. The commission gave its final recommendations to Congress by Oct. 1, 2022, after which the commission was disbanded.
Implementation of the name changes began in January 2023 and will continue throughout the year until all redesignations are complete.
For the Army, this included the name change of 10 installations, both active Army and Army National Guard posts: Camp Beauregard, Louisiana; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Gordon, Georgia; Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia; Fort Hood; Fort Lee, Virginia; Fort Pickett, Virginia; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Rucker, Alabama; Other than Fort Hood becoming Fort Cavazos, the other installation names will change as follows:
Fort Benning to Fort Moore, after Lt. Gen. Hal and Julia Moore.
Fort Bragg will become Fort Liberty, after the value of liberty.
Fort Gordon will be renamed Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower.
Fort A.P. Hill will become Fort Walker, after Dr. Mary Walker, an abolitionist and only female Medal of Honor recipient.
Fort Lee will be renamed Fort Gregg-Adams, after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.
Fort Pickett was redesignated as Fort Barfoot in March 2023, after Tech. Sgt. Van T. Barfoot.
Fort Polk will become Fort Johnson after Sgt. William Henry Johnson.
Fort Rucker will be renamed Fort Novosel after Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel Sr.
Camp Beauregard will be redesignated as the Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville.
For the U.S. Navy, this included three ships named after two Confederate battles and a Confederate naval officer, along with two buildings at the U.S. Naval Academy, both of which honored Confederate naval officers. For the Air Force, a building and a street at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, had to be renamed.
All installations have until Jan.. 1, 2024, to complete the required changes as outlined in the 2021 NDAA.
While the Tuesday ceremony on post is by invitation only, the installation will be offering live broadcasts of the unveiling on social media at www.facebook.com/USAGFortHood.