Army rethinks bases named for Confederate generals
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy signaled their willingness to discuss the scrapping of Confederate names on forts across the country, Army Col. Sunset Belinsky said.
They are open to having a bipartisan dialogue on renaming the bases, Belinsky said. The Army has 10 posts named after Confederate generals across the South, including major installations at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Benning in Georgia and Fort Hood in Texas.
McCarthy, a former Army Ranger, indicated his willingness to discuss the change after weeks of protests across the country in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who pleaded for his life as a white police officer knelt on his neck.
The Army has resisted calls to change names on installations named after officers who rebelled and fought against the U.S. government in the Civil War.
As the nation heads into its second week of protests after Floyd’s death, calls for police reforms are growing and locations across the country area announcing plans to take down or remove Confederate memorials.
McCarthy and the military became embroiled in controversy surrounding the response by police and National Guard troops to protesters last week in Washington. McCarthy oversees National Guard units in D.C. because it does not have a governor.
McCarthy acknowledged Sunday that National Guard soldiers were involved in the eviction of mostly peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square prior to President Trump’s appearance at a nearby church. Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accompanied Trump.
No Guardsmen used force on the protesters, McCarthy said. A report that National Guard helicopters buzzed protesters in another part of Washington is under investigation, he said. The Pentagon came close to ordering federal troops to confront protesters, according to McCarthy.
The incident prompted several former high-ranking Pentagon officials to warn that the military was being drawn into politics, risking a constitutional crisis. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis blasted Trump, saying he sought to divide, not unite, Americans.
Within days, senior military officials acknowledged racial inequities in the military.