Fayetteville area veterans split on whether Fort Liberty should be renamed 'Bragg'

Monique John Image
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Fayetteville veterans weigh in on potential renaming of Fort Liberty
The Department of Defense is not commenting on whether there are any immediate plans to change the name.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Veterans in the Fayetteville area are weighing in on potential changes coming to Fort Liberty, namely the potential for redesignating the installation to its former name, Fort Bragg.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referenced Fort Bragg, the original name of the post while speaking Monday during his arrival at the Pentagon.

"Every moment that I'm here, I'm thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers," Hegseth said. "Our job is lethality and readiness and warfighting."

Questions remain about what the Trump administration's policy will be toward the installation's name. President Donald Trump promised to redesignate Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg on the campaign trail last year. He hinted at the name reversal during his town hall in Fayetteville back in October.

A couple of veterans in the Cumberland County area who spoke to ABC11 were split on whether the original name should be reinstated.

Jim Morris said he's committed to the name Liberty.

"I think it's childish," Morris said. We made that change for a very specific reason ... You've got all of these great soldiers, airmen, and Marines that are sitting here on this base and the base that they're at is named after a buffoon."

Vernon Jacks said he supports bringing back the original name.

"I would love it," Jacks said. "I was against the name change in the first place ... because of all of the individuals that were deployed from Fort Bragg, lost their lives being deployed to Fort Bragg.

"It's always going to be Fort Bragg and everybody knew that," he added.

The Department of Defense is not commenting on whether there are any immediate plans to change the name. If it were to change, the North Carolina Department of Transportation said it would cost more than $200,000 just to redo all of its highway directional signs. That doesn't include signs at the installation.

A 2022 report estimated it would cost more than $6 million to rename all of Fort Bragg's assets to Fort Liberty. The name change to Liberty took place in 2023.

WATCH | The history behind the naming of Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg is named after Warrenton native, Braxton Bragg, who was a general in the Confederate Army.
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