ATLANTA — Fort Benning could once again become Fort Moore. Yes, you read that correctly.
Earlier this year, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum ordering the renaming of Fort Moore to be changed back to Fort Benning.
Before it was changed to Fort Moore, the base was previously named after Brigadier General Henry Benning, who was a leader of Georgia’s secessionist movement and an advocate of preserving slavery.
In his memorandum, Hegseth said he was renaming the base back to Fort Benning, to pay “tribute to Corporal (CPL) Fred G. Benning, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism in action during World War I with the U.S. Army in France in 1918.”
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Now, buried deep inside a defense spending bill, if passed, Fort Benning would go back to Fort Moore.
In May 2023, Fort Benning was renamed Fort Moore for retired Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” and his wife, Julia Moore. Hal Moore is a decorated and highly regarded commander of the Vietnam War. His wife, Julia Moore, is a distinguished leader of Army family programs who changed how the military cares for the widows of fallen soldiers.
“There can be no better way to inspire the men and women who will train to defend our nation, and particularly to provide recognition to the widows of our Nation’s fallen, than to name our installation for a couple who exemplifies America’s highest standards of courage, character, and compassion — Hal and Julia Moore,” commanding general Maj. Gen. Curtis Buzzard said at the time.
The name was approved by the House and Senate at the time. Now, the base could go back to that name that it had for about two years.
In Section 2834 of the bill, it says, “This section would rename a Department of the Army military installation located in Muscogee County and Chattahoochee County, Georgia as Fort Moore.”
The language in the House legislation for renaming the two Georgia bases is not in the Senate version of the bill. Once the Senate approves its version, lawmakers from both chambers will need to workout what will remain in the bill it passes.
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