Pentagon changes name of Georgia Army base back to Fort Benning, dumping Fort Moore

President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (Pool via AP)

Kaveh Sardari / Council on Foreign Relations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has, for the second time, reversed the renaming of a U.S. military base, saying that Fort Moore in Georgia should revert back to being called Fort Benning.

The move reflects an ongoing effort by the Pentagon to overturn the Biden administration’s 2023 decision to remove names that honored Confederate leaders, including for nine Army bases. But the drive to revert to the former names means finding service members with the same name as the Confederate leaders.

Previously, Fort Benning was named for Brig. Gen. Henry L. Benning, a Confederate officer during the American Civil War who stridently opposed the abolition of slavery.