Latest news with #Seidule
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump reverses Army base names in latest DEI purge
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he plans to revert the names of seven major Army bases back to the Confederate leaders for which they were originally named. '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. 'We won a lot of battles out of those forts, it's no time to change.' Trump's announcement, during a speech to soldiers at Fort Bragg, follows Biden-administration era alterations in 2023 that changed the installation names to honor new, non-Confederate individuals. Those included changing Fort Hood to Fort Cavazos, for the Army's first four-star Hispanic general. The Army previously redesignated Fort Liberty, previously known as Fort Bragg, to its original name, but honoring Private First Class Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero instead of the Confederate general Braxton Bragg. The service also redesignated Fort Moore, after Gen. Hal Moore and his wife Julia Compton Moore, for Fred G. Benning, who won the Distinguished Service Cross during World War I. The Army is taking the same approach for the bases tapped for renaming on Tuesday, finding award-winning soldiers with the same last names as the Confederate leaders to name the bases after, according to a statement released by the service after the president's speech. The president gave no timeline for the name changes and it was not immediately clear whether the Army's bases would be renamed after Confederate leaders or soldiers from different eras. One army official, granted anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak, said they were caught off guard by the rapid-fire developments, which could take months to Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Though the Trump administration insisted the redesignations were in-line with laws that prevent the Pentagon from naming bases after Confederate leaders or battles, Ty Seidule, a retired Army brigadier general who was the vice chair of the Congressional Naming Commission, which is tasked with relabeling bases and U.S. military assets, said that Trump's decision went against the spirit of the new rule enacted after the George Floyd protests. 'The bottom line is he's choosing surname over service,' said Seidule, who's now a visiting professor at Hamilton College. 'It is breaking the spirit of a law that was created by the will of the American people through their elected representatives.' Seidule said that the commission, which was made up of three Republicans, one Democrat and four retired flag officers, spent 20 months seeking input from the public and got 33,000 responses to change the names of Army bases and other installations and assets named after Confederates, including several U.S. Navy ships. But he said the decision still reflected that the Trump administration 'realizes that Confederates chose treason to preserve slavery, and they are unworthy of having bases named for them in America in 2025.' On Tuesday, Trump criticized Biden at several points during his speech, which was full of asides about immigration, transgender Americans and the spending bill currently being debated in Congress. His political comments in front of hundreds of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division led to a smattering of boos from the mostly uniformed audience when he criticized former President Joe Biden. Audience members also jeered when Trump mentioned California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom the president clashed with over protests in California that were sparked by the Trump administration's immigration raids. Presidents normally avoid giving political speeches to military personnel. 'Do you think this crowd would have showed up for Biden,' Trump said at one point in his remarks. 'I don't think so.' 'We will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean and safe again,' Trump said, claiming parts of the city are under the control of international criminal gangs. The president has ordered 4,000 California National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to Los Angeles, though so far only about 300 guardsmen have entered the city. The Marines are positioned outside Los Angeles, where they're undergoing training on crowd control, said one defense official who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The move to rename Army bases comes just days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to relabel a Navy vessel named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk as well as other ships named after civil rights leaders and women. Seidule, the retired Army brigadier general who served on the Biden-era naming commission, said that Trump's decision creates the risk that future administrations could take turns renaming the Army's bases. 'What happens if some other administration would name something after someone that one party thinks is just absolutely beyond the pale,' said Seidule. 'I think that this could absolutely be a tennis match.' Sam Skove contributed to this report.
Politico
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Trump reverses Army base names in latest DEI purge
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he plans to revert the names of seven major Army bases back to the Confederate generals for which they were originally named. '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. 'We won a lot of battles out of those forts, it's no time to change.' Trump's announcement, during a speech to soldiers at Fort Bragg, follows Biden-administration era alterations in 2023 that changed the installation names to honor new, non-Confederate individuals. Those included changing Fort Hood to Fort Cavazos, for the Army's first four-star Hispanic general. The Army previously redesignated Fort Liberty, previously known as Fort Bragg, to its original name, but honoring Private First Class Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero instead of the Confederate general Braxton Bragg. The service also redesignated Fort Moore, after Gen. Hal Moore and his wife Julia Compton Moore, for Fred G. Benning, who won the Distinguished Service Cross during World War I. The Army is taking the same approach for the bases tapped for renaming on Tuesday, finding award-winning soldiers with the same last names as the Confederate generals to name the bases after, according to a statement released by the service after the president's speech. The president gave no timeline for the name changes and it was not immediately clear whether the Army's bases would be renamed after Confederate generals or soldiers from different eras. One army official, granted anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak, said they were caught off guard by the rapid-fire developments, which could take months to Army did not immediately respond to POLITICO's request for comment. Though the Trump administration insisted the redesignations were in-line with laws that prevent the Pentagon from naming bases after Confederate leaders or battles, Ty Seidule, a retired Army brigadier general who was the vice chair of the Congressional Naming Commission, which is tasked with relabeling bases and U.S. military assets, said that Trump's decision went against the spirit of the new rule enacted after the George Floyd protests. 'The bottom line is he's choosing surname over service,' said Seidule, who's now a visiting professor at Hamilton College. 'It is breaking the spirit of a law that was created by the will of the American people through their elected representatives.' Seidule said that the commission, which was made up of three Republicans, one Democrat and four retired flag officers, spent 20 months seeking input from the public and got 33,000 responses to change the names of Army bases and other installations and assets named after Confederates, including several U.S. Navy ships. But he said the decision still reflected that the Trump administration 'realizes that Confederates chose treason to preserve slavery, and they are unworthy of having bases named for them in America in 2025.' On Tuesday, Trump criticized Biden at several points during his speech, which was full of asides about immigration, transgender Americans and the spending bill currently being debated in Congress. His political comments in front of hundreds of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division led to a smattering of boos from the mostly uniformed audience when he criticized former President Joe Biden. Audience members also jeered when Trump mentioned California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom the president clashed with over protests in California that were sparked by the Trump administration's immigration raids. Presidents normally avoid giving political speeches to military personnel. 'Do you think this crowd would have showed up for Biden,' Trump said at one point in his remarks. 'I don't think so.' 'We will liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean and safe again,' Trump said, claiming parts of the city are under the control of international criminal gangs. The president has ordered 4,000 California National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to Los Angeles, though so far only about 300 guardsmen have entered the city. The Marines are positioned outside Los Angeles, where they're undergoing training on crowd control, said one defense official who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The move to rename Army bases comes just days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to relabel a Navy vessel named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk as well as other ships named after civil rights leaders and women. Seidule, the retired Army brigadier general who served on the Biden-era naming commission, said that Trump's decision creates the risk that future administrations could take turns renaming the Army's bases. 'What happens if some other administration would name something after someone that one party thinks is just absolutely beyond the pale,' said Seidule. 'I think that this could absolutely be a tennis match.' Sam Skove contributed to this report.
USA Today
04-03-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says
Not that Benning: Hegseth renames Fort Moore, but not for Confederate general, he says Show Caption Hide Caption Hegseth: 'Diversity is our strength' is dumbest phrase in military history U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called 'diversity is our strength' the dumbest phrase in military history. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth renamed Fort Moore to Fort Benning, following through on his pledge to restore the original names of military bases, also including Fort Bragg – but not exactly honoring their Confederate namesakes. Hegseth renamed the Georgia base in honor of Cpl. Fred G. Benning, a World War I veteran awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and not the Confederate general for whom it was originally named, according to a memo released Monday. Earlier this month, Hegseth also renamed Fort Bragg – another base whose original Confederate-inspired name was restored – in that case to honor a distinguished World War II soldier named Roland Bragg. Hegseth had vowed to revert to the former names as part of his sprawling effort to erase diversity programs throughout the military. In his first remarks as defense Secretary, he referred to the bases as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, hinting at changes to come. Last year, he called names like Liberty and Moore "garbage," and said changing them "breaks" a "generational link." Fort Benning's name was changed to Fort Moore in 2023 in honor of Hal Moore, a Vietnam War general, and his wife Julia. Hal Moore was highly decorated for his service during the battle of Ia Drang. Julia Moore changed the way the Army notifies families of servicemembers killed in action through her activism. Ty Seidule, a retired Army brigadier general and co-chairman of the commission that swapped out names of Confederate soldiers who waged war against the United States for American heroes, blasted the decision on Monday. He called Hegseth's decision 'capricious and cruel.' 'I'm heartbroken. First family to ever be recognized. First spouse. Legendary heroes who are buried on the post,' Seidule said. 'The Moores were and are an inspiration to all soldiers and all Americans.' Hegseth's decision, Seidule said, overturns the will of the American people. Congress created the commission and accepted its findings. 'Commemoration reflects our values and nobody better reflects the values and mission of Fort Moore than the Moore family,' Seidule said. The base's name was changed, along with that of Fort Bragg in North Carolina – which was renamed Fort Liberty during the Biden administration. Fort Cavazos – formerly Fort Hood – in Texas was renamed in honor of Richard Cavazos, the first Hispanic American four-star general. More: Fort Liberty now Fort Bragg. What's the history behind the name and Hegseth's decision? The changes came as part of an effort in Congress to scrub the names of Confederates from public tributes amid a national reckoning about institutional racism in the wake of George Floyd's murder. A commission created during former President Joe Biden's presidency issued recommendations for new names for bases, streets and monuments that honored Confederate leaders. By picking names slightly different from those of the bases' original honorees, Hegseth skirted a Biden-era law that barred them from being named after people who fought against the U.S. in the Confederacy. As part of the Trump administration's push to eradicate diversity initiatives, Hegseth has banned transgender people from the military and ditched official Defense Department celebrations such as Black History Month. Hegseth also ordered 8% of the military's spending next year to be redirected from "low-impact" Biden-era initiatives, including diversity programs, towards the military's "core mission of deterring and winning wars." Corporal Benning, who served during World War I, received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second-highest honor for valor, for his heroism on Oct. 9, 1918, in France. Benning's platoon commander had been killed and two non-commissioned officers had been wounded in fighting south of Exermont, France. Benning then led the remaining 20 men through heavy fire to their mission supporting the Meuse-Argonne offensive, according to the Army. Hal and Julia Moore's son explains Fort Benning name change Retired Army Col. David Moore, Hal and Julia Moore's son, told USA TODAY in 2023 that he had grown to understand why Fort Benning's name was changed. He had lived there as a 3-year-old and went on to graduate from West Point in 1984. Times had changed, he said, and naming the base after his parents who had loved their family, soldiers and the military profession made sense. "In the end, it's the kind of force we put on the battlefield to win our nation's wars," Moore said. "I just hope and pray that this helps build a better culture for generations of soldiers and families behind me." Henry Benning, for whom the base was originally named in 1918, had been an 'ardent secessionist, bitter opponent of abolition and senior officer in the Confederate Army,' according to the Army's website. 'He is on record as saying that he would rather be stricken with illness and starvation than see slaves liberated and given equality as citizens.'
