RICHMOND, Va. — President Donald Trump announced plans Tuesday to change recently renamed military bases, reversing a bipartisan 2020 Congressional statute that led to the removal of Confederate names from U.S. military installations.
Trump's proposal would replace the current names, which honor diverse military heroes, with others who share similar surnames to the original Confederate namesakes.
Among the seven bases affected are three in Virginia: Fort Barfoot, Fort Gregg-Adams and Fort Walker.
The announcement has sparked disappointment among families of the honored soldiers whose names currently grace these installations.
When Fort Pickett was renamed for Colonel Van T. Barfoot, his surviving children spoke of their father's dedication and how the Medal of Honor winner embodied Army virtues.
Similarly, when Fort Lee became Fort Gregg-Adams, honoring Colonel Charity Adams and General Arthur Gregg, their families celebrated their quiet modesty, humility and pride in the Army.
Dr. Steve Anders, longtime historian at Fort Lee who befriended General Gregg after his retirement, emphasized the importance of these names.
"When you come in the service, you will look at this building, at that street, at this exhibit, and it tells you the standards loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, personal courage. These are the things these leaders stand for, and as soldiers, we want you to stand for that," Anders said. "This will change the name of the post, but there are other facilities on post that will honor Gen. Gregg, and I'm very happy that that is the case. He richly deserves that."
Tom Barfoot, one of Col. Barfoot's sons, said Thursday he was "disappointed, but that [the name change] was not wholly unexpected, given the comments then former-President Trump made about the naming commission, and comments Pete Hegseth made on Fox News," before he became secretary of defense.
While Barfoot said there was no official outreach that he knew of to the families of current post namesakes, "many members of the Guard reached out after the president's announcement, and that was important to me," he added.
Stanley Earley, son of Fort Gregg-Adams namesake Col. Charity Adams, expressed disappointment at Trump's announcement, so soon after what seemed like a watershed moment celebrating the Army's core philosophy.
"The decision reinforced the principle that those who dedicate themselves fully—regardless of race or gender—can be recognized at the highest levels, and above all, that excellence matters. The naming of Fort Gregg-Adams sent a powerful and positive message to future generations. Undoing it would send an even stronger, deeply negative message," Earley said.
On Wednesday Sen. Tim Kaine (D, VA) questioned whether Trump has the authority to implement these changes, noting that the renaming process was enacted through the bipartisan 2020 Congressional Defense Bill after an intensive selection process involving Congressional committees and then a naming commission.
"He's been scouring the record to find other people named Lee or other people named Pickett that he can name the base after," Kaine said. "I don't believe that he has the power to change the names over the process that was established by a Congressional statute that, despite a presidential veto that was overridden, became the law of the land."
While the potential name-changing process plays out, historian Anders recalls fondly his long conversation with Gen. Gregg just after the announcement that his name would now be part of Army nomenclature.
"I can tell you, the look and the pride, and he was deeply honored with that," said Anders. "It wasn't about him. It was about the Army. He had the best command philosophy of anybody I knew. He made sure he was with the troops. Even though he was a three-star general, he commanded the largest battalion in Vietnam, 3600 young troops, and he was with them every day. I just admire that. And so, as I said, I'm a little disappointed."
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