Fort Gordon name change to Fort Eisenhower moves forward

Oct. 7—Fort Gordon's name change to Fort Eisenhower will soon be official.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a memorandum to senior Pentagon officials Thursday accepting the recommendations of an independent naming commission formed to remove references to the Confederacy in the Department of Defense.

The recommendations include renaming the U.S. Army base west of Augusta after Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II and president from 1953-1961.

Fort Gordon, home of the U.S. Army Cyber Command and Cyber Center for Excellence, was named after John B. Gordon who served as a Confederate army general and later served as a U.S. senator from Georgia and as a governor of the Peach State.

Austin said he fully supported the committee's recommendations and that he was committed to implementing the recommendations as soon as a mandated 90-day waiting period expired and no later than Jan. 1, 2024.

Fort Gordon is among nine bases that will change names.

The others are: Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, Fort Lee, Fort Pickett, Fort Polk and Fort Rucker.

Fort A.P. Hill will be renamed after Dr. Mary Hill, the only female Medal of Honor winner.

Fort Benning's name will be changed to honor Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, a calvary officer depicted in "We Were Soldiers," and his wife, Julia, who worked to create casualty notification teams.

Fort Polk's new name will be named after Sgt. William Johnson, an African American Medal of Honor winner in World War I.

Fort Bragg will become Fort Liberty.

Fort Hood will be Fort Cavazos.

Fort Lee will be Fort Gregg-Adams.

Fort Pickett will be Fort Barfoot.

Fort Rucker will be Fort Novosel.