Trump says he will reverse Fort Novosel name change
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his administration would reverse the 2023 name changes to several military bases, including Fort Novosel.
'For a little breaking news, we are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill, and Fort Robert E. Lee,' Trump said while speaking at Fort Bragg.
Fort Novosel (formerly Fort Rucker), Fort Bragg, and seven other Army bases around the southern U.S. underwent name changes in 2023. The movement to rename the Army bases under the Biden administration stemmed from concerns that U.S. military institutions should not be named for a Confederate leader who fought against the United States and was committed to slavery.
Controversial name could come back to Fort Novosel
Fort Novosel, the home of Army Aviation and the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, was originally named for General Edmund W. Rucker, a Confederate officer during the Civil War. Rucker served under Nathan Bedford Forrest, a slave trader and early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
After the Civil War, Rucker became a wealthy industrial magnate in Birmingham. He died in 1924.
The southeast Alabama installation currently bears the name of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Novosel Sr., an aviator with direct ties to Army Aviation and Enterprise who served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He later earned the Medal of Honor after saving 29 soldiers during a medevac mission in Vietnam.
The administration has already started the renaming process with Fort Benning and Fort Bragg.
Fort Bragg, named initially after Confederate Army officer Braxton Bragg, was renamed to Fort Liberty in 2023. In early 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the installation to be renamed Fort Bragg, this time in honor of Private First Class Roland L. Bragg, an Army paratrooper who served during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
Rucker family wants the home of Army Aviation to stay Fort Novosel: 'He is a hero'
After Secretary Hegseth ordered the renaming of Fort Bragg, WDHN spoke with Col. Rucker's cousin, K. Denise Rucker Krepp, who openly believes the installation should have never bore the name of her cousin, who fought against the United States.
'I believe that military installations should be named in honor of those who fought or fought for the United States, and my cousin, Colonel Edmund Rucker, did not do that. He took up arms against the United States,' said Krepp in February.
According to the Military Times, the 2023 effort to rename the nine Army bases cost the government around $39 million. The costly changes were due in part to the removal and changes to signs, displays, monuments and paraphernalia.
This is a breaking story. Stay with WDHN for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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