Representatives ask for Fort Rucker name change

On Monday, Aug. 21, 22 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, requesting a name change for 10 U.S. Army installations across the United States.

The 10 installations – Fort Rucker; Camp Beauregard, La.; 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.– are all named after Confederate figures.

Calif. Rep. Mike Thompson led the letter, which included the signatures of Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen and Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings.

The letter asks Secretary Mattis to rename these 10 installations because of their Confederate connections.

"Our nation has been represented by heroes who have enriched our history, protected our democracy and maintained our role as the world's greatest superpower," the letter reads. "To commemorate their contributions, many of our military installations rightfully bear their names. By selecting to honor their deeds and actions, we state our national values: equality, selflessness, bravery and heroism."

In the letter, Thompson and other signatories say the connections to Confederate figures "only serve to promote a dark and divisive time in our history and do not uphold the best of our country."

"In your role as Secretary, we ask that you begin a process to reevaluate the naming of these installations and develop a plan to rename them to better honor the true spirit of our nation," the letter reads.

According to the Army's website, Fort Rucker was first named Camp Rucker in 1942, in honor of Col. Edmund W. Rucker. Rucker was a Civil War Confederate officer. He later received the honorary title of general.

Rucker later became an industrial leader in Birmingham following the Civil War.

In a press release on his website, Thompson said "no Confederate figure" should be honored by having a military installation named after them.

"As a veteran, I know what high honor it is to have military installations named for heroic Americans," he said. " It is an honor that no Confederate figure should enjoy. Their actions and ideology were repugnant and should not be celebrated by the country they fought to dissolve."

On social media, Republican U.S. Representative Martha Roby said the renaming of Fort Rucker would not happen.

"Fort Rucker is a proud post with a distinguished history of training the best rotary wing aviators in the world," she said. "It’s a shame Democrats are trying to inject divisive politics into our military installations."