Yes, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is back. On June 2, 2023, Fort Bragg was officially renamed Fort Liberty; the post was originally named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg. While the renaming removed the Confederate connection from the post, it deviated from the Army practice of naming installations for Army heroes and leaders. It also caused confusion for people trying to remember the (old) new name for the Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces.
On February 10, 2025, the Department of Defense announced via press release that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum renaming Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Roland L. Bragg. The release notes that SecDef signed the memo aboard a C-17 en route to Stuttgart, Germany, from Joint Base Andrews.
“The new name pays tribute to Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero who earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his exceptional courage during the Battle of the Bulge,” the DoD release states. “This change underscores the installation’s legacy of recognizing those who have demonstrated extraordinary service and sacrifice for the nation.”
Private First Class Bragg served as a mechanic with the 17th Airborne during the fighting in Belgium. In John Eisenhower’s 1969 book recounting the battle, The Bitter Woods, Bragg is credited with saving a wounded soldier’s life by stealing a German ambulance to get him to a hospital.