Nominations for new Rucker name sought

Nominations for a new name for Fort Rucker will be accepted through Dec. 1 of this year.

The call for nominations is from the Department of Defense commission evaluating the renaming of nine military installations named for Confederate leaders.

Fort Rucker, named for Col. Edmund Rucker, a brigade commander in the Confederate Army during the Civil War—who was given the honorary title of “general”—is one of the bases.

The other bases named after Confederate officers being considered for renaming are Fort A.P. Hill, Va.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Lee, Va.; Fort Pickett, Va.; and Fort Polk, La. The Army’s Fort Belvoir in Virginia and two ships, the USNS Maury and the USS Chancellorsville are also being considered.

There are other military installations with names linked to the Confederacy, but the commission is empowered to make recommendations only for Department of Defense assets. This means the commission cannot consider new names for National Guard installations which fall under the operational control of their respective state governments.

The William “Mac” Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 created the eight-member commission to develop a plan for renaming the bases. Officially named the “Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America,” the commission is commonly called the “Naming Commission.”

Chaired by retired Navy Adm. Michelle Howard, the commission will present a written report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committee by Oct. 1, 2022 that includes a list of identified assets, the costs to remove or rename them and the criteria and methods developed to identify those assets, according to the commission website. Congress mandated incorporating “local sensitivities in the process and recommendations,” according to the naming website.

Other members appointed by Congress serving with Howard are retired Navy Adm. Michelle Howard, chairman; retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, vice-chairman; retired Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick; Jerry Buchannan; retired Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller; Lawrence Romo; Dr. Kori Schake; and United States Rep. Austin Scott from Georgia.

The Congressional commission reports to the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Because we recognize the great importance of this, the commission is visiting all installations identified for renaming and engaging with local community stakeholders whenever possible to ensure their voices carry weight in the process,” the website states. On Oct. 6, Fort Rucker Public Affairs Officer Jimmy Cummings said the commission visited the Home of Army Aviation about two months previously.

“While we are still working to finalize the official criteria, the commission generally agrees that the names of our military installations should appropriately reflect the courage, values and sacrifices of our diverse military men and women, with consideration given to the local or regional significance of names and their potential to inspire and motivate our service members,” according to the website, which adds that the number of submissions received for any name will not influence final recommendations made by the Commission. “Suggested names will be considered by the commissioners based solely on their merit.”

The plan will be implemented by Jan. 1, 2024. “While we anticipate that renaming activities would take place around that time-frame, the role of the commission is strictly to provide recommendations, not execute activities on behalf of the Department of Defense,” according to the naming commission website.

Fort Rucker came into existence during the early months of World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The United States entered the war on Dec. 8, 1941, and on Dec. 15, 1941, Congress voted an appropriation of $10 billion for the defense of the United States and the mobilization of active military called for the creation of new training camps and military bases, including Camp Rucker, according to “The Origins of Fort Rucker,” written by the late Dale County Judge Val McGee.

The original name of the post was Ozark Triangular Division Camp, but before the camp was officially opened on May 1, 1942, the War Department named it Camp Rucker.

In September of 1942, 1,259 additional acres south of Daleville were acquired for the construction of an airfield to support the training camp. It was known as Ozark Army Airfield until January 1959, when the name was changed to Cairns Army Airfield.

Rucker was deactivated after World War II and reopened for the Korean War with an added helicopter training base. Hanchey Army Heliport became home of the Department of Rotary Wing Training of the Army Aviation School, the first time it was ever consolidated to one place. Camp Rucker became Fort Rucker in 1955.

According to the naming commission website, duties of the commission include “assessing the cost of renaming or removing names, symbols, displays, monuments or paraphernalia that commemorate the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America.”

The commission is also required to “develop procedures and criteria to assess whether an existing name, symbol, monument, display, or paraphernalia commemorates the Confederate States of America or person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America and to recommend procedures for renaming assets of the Department of Defense to prevent commemoration of the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America.

A plan to remove the “names, symbols, displays, monument or paraphernalia” is also required of the commission, according to the website. “Include in the plan procedures and criteria for collecting and incorporating local sensitivities associated with naming or renaming of assets of the Department of Defense.”

In addition, any “base, installation, street, building, facility, aircraft, ship, plane, weapon, equipment or any other property owned or controlled by the Department of Defense” also will be reviewed.

Those interested in recommending a name may submit the recommendation https://www.thenamingcommission.gov.