Community will get input in Fort Bragg renaming process

Upcoming town hall meetings will seek community input on the renaming of Fort Bragg, the Fayetteville Observer reports.

In January, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act which includes a provision mandating military installations named after Confederates to be renamed.

Fort Bragg is one of those installations and is named after Confederate general Braxton Bragg, who historians say was a slave owner.

Despite some Fayetteville residents saying they do not support the name change and most commenters on the Facebook page saying they don’t want to see it change, Congress mandated the name be changed by 2023.

Announcements about when the town hall meetings will be held will be forthcoming on the Fort Bragg Facebook page “so you can make sure your voice is heard,” said Col. Scott Pence, the installation's garrison commander.

“We’re going to be very transparent,” Pence said, adding officials will keep a running list of the names suggested.

Once community input is received, Pence said, a panel of experts will submit the recommended names to the Fort Bragg commanding general.

“It’s our role and our task to make sure that anything that happens with the name is done with the full backing of the community,” he said.