AUGUSTA, GA (WJBF) – The move comes in a letter to the Secretary of Defense because the military installations named bear the names of Confederate soldiers.

Representative Mike Thompson (D) California, along with 21 other representatives sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Wednesday asking for the change.  Among the list of military installations, Fort Gordon in Augusta.

The letter states, “Unfortunately, several of our installations bear the name of figures who fought against our Nation as part of the Confederacy.  These designations only serve to promote a dark and divisive time in our history and do not uphold the best of our country.”

In a statement about the move, Representative Thompson told the media, “As a veteran, I know what a high honor it is to have military installations named for heroic Americans.  It is an honor that no Confederate figure should enjoy.  Their actions and ideology were repugnant and they should not be celebrated by the country they fought to dissolve.”

The United States operates 10 military installations across the country named for Confederate figures:

  • Camp Beauregard, LA
  • Fort A.P. HIll, VA
  • Fort Benning, GA
  • Fort Bragg, NC
  • Fort Gordon, GA
  • Fort Hood, TX
  • Fort Lee, VA
  • Fort Pickett, VA
  • Fort Polk, LA
  • Fort Rucker, AL

All the members also committed in the letter, which you can find here, to working with Secretary Mattis to ensure he has the necessary resources to initiative and complete the renaming process.  Congressman Mike Thompson is a Democrat who represents California’s 5th district.  There has been no response from Secretary Mattis or Fort Gordon about the request for the name change.

Georgia’s 12th district Congressman, Rick Allen, in Augusta today was asked about the letter and recommendation to change the name of Fort Gordon.  Allen tells NewsChannel 6, “When you bring the military into all those kind of outside issues… our military has a mission because its a dangerous world and we need to keep these outside issues to ourselves.”

Fort Gordon Georgia was named after Confederate Lieutenant General, John Brown Gordon.