National Security Figures Oppose Commemorating Confederacy on Military Facilities
Support Among Former National Security Officials and Retired Military Leaders for Renaming Army Bases Named After Confederate Soldiers
- Former Defense Secretary, Robert Gates: “It [is] time to rid the American military of symbols that represent ‘the dark side of our history’”
- General (Ret.) and Former CIA Director, David Petraeus: “The irony of training at bases named for those who took up arms against the United States, and for the right to enslave others, is inescapable to anyone paying attention. Now, belatedly, is the moment for us to pay such attention.”
- Air Force General (Ret.) and Former CIA and NSA Director, Michael Hayden: “[It’s] a great idea [to rename bases with Confederate names]”
- Former Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Special Assistant to the President, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Brett McGurk: “Thoughtful reflections coming from currently serving and retired Generals and Admirals [on the need to replace the names of Army bases and remove Confederate symbols]”
- Former Secretary of the Army, Director of the White House Military Office, and Retired Army Officer Louis Caldera, and Former Ambassador and Retired Decorated Army Officer Charles Ray: “Intentionally or unintentionally, the current name continues to celebrate a cause and set of beliefs that dishonor the sacrifices of all soldiers, regardless of ethnicity who train at this installation.”
- Former Ambassador and Retired Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, John Estrada: “[The Confederate flag] represents bondage. It represents people who embrace that”
Former Secretary of State Counselor, Eliot Cohen: “[…] Their cause was that of chattel slavery. Names are extraordinarily powerful things, and one should not underestimate the importance of such an act” Former Spokesperson for Defense Secretary Les Aspin, Vernon Guidry: “These names ‘honor’ the cause of the Confederacy, and it is time to stop it.” - Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Policy, Phillip Carter: Applauds General Abrams’ decision to ban Confederate flags and symbols from U.S. installations in Korea
- Major General (Ret.) Dana Pittard: “Hopefully, the rest of the U.S. Army senior leadership will” ban Confederate flags and symbols
- Major General (Ret.) Paul Eaton: “Time for a change America. There is no reason to name American Army posts after Confederate traitors.”
- Army Colonel (Ret.) Peter Mansoor: “Now is the time to finally bring about a change that will speak volumes as to what the U.S. Army stands for.”
- Army Colonel (Ret.) Michael Jason, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) John Nagl, and Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Paul Yingling: “The practice of naming U.S. Army facilities after those who waged war against the United States was wrong, and correcting this wrong is long overdue.”
Proposed Alternative Names for Bases
- Honor accomplished figures who represent the diversity that makes the country and the Army strong: suggestions include Lt. Colonel Lee Archer, Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez, General Richard Cavazos, General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Sergeant William Carney, Corporal Joseph H. De Castro, Private Carl Gorman, President Ulysses S. Grant, Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays, Senator Daniel Inouye, Captain Jennifer Moreno, General Roscoe Robinson Jr., Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, Major Hugh Thompson, Harriet Tubman
- Honor those who modeled inspiring virtues while serving: suggestions include Col. Robert Gould Shaw, Lt. Henry Flipper, Sgt. Alvin York, Maj. Josephine Nesbit, Lt. Daniel Inouye, Capt. George McGovern, Master Sgt. Mike Pena, Chief Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, Staff Sgt. Justin Gallegos, Geronimo
- Add women, after whom zero Army bases are named: suggestions include Harriet Tubman, Edith Nourse Rogers, Charity Adams Earley, Mary E. Clarke, Lori Piestewa FACT SHEET: June 18, 2020
- Replace Fort Hood with Sgt. Roy Benavidez, a Mexican-American Green Beret who served in Vietnam and was awarded a Medal of Honor from President Ronald Reagan in 1981
Actions Taken by the Military
Renaming military bases that have Confederate names is consistent with increasing national consensus against honoring Confederate leaders
- A new Quinnipiac poll shows that a majority of Americans now support removing Confederate statues from public spaces. This is a 19-point increase from 2017 and reflects a broader, growing consensus against honoring Confederate leaders.
- This bipartisan consensus can be seen in a growing number of local initiatives over the past several weeks to remove Confederate monuments, including:
–A monument in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, under the direction of Republican Mayor Lenny Curry
-The Confederate flag from the Mississippi state flag, under the state’s Republican Legislature
-A monument in Indianapolis, Indiana, honoring Confederate soldiers, ordered by Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett
–Four monuments in Richmond, Virginia, the declared capital of the Confederacy, ordered removed under directives by local and state officials, including the 60-foot statue of Robert E. Lee
–A monument in Pitt County, North Carolina, voted by Pitt County Board of Commissioners in a 7-2 vote, after prior votes to remove the statue had failed
–A monument in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, voted by the City Council - It is also reflected in a number of local initiatives over the past several years to remove Confederate monuments from public spaces, including:-The removal of a Roger B. Taney statue in Annapolis, Maryland, under Republican Governor Larry Hogan, who called for its removal by saying ‘’-The removal of four monuments in New Orleans, one of which was used as a rallying point for David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan,
