Fort Novosel to return to original name, but not in memory of Confederate general
Fort Novosel renaming ceremony, April 10, 2023 – Photo from WAKA Action 8 News
An Alabama U.S. Army base that had its name changed under the Biden administration will now revert back to its original name.
What had long been known as Fort Rucker near Enterprise and Ozark had been renamed Fort Novosel in 2023. That was to honor a Medal of Honor recipient who served in World War II and Vietnam.
It will now be return to being called Fort Rucker, but it will be for a different person with that last name.
It will now honor Captain Edward Rucker, who received the Distinguished Service Cross in World War I.
Originally, it was named for Confederate General Edmund Rucker, a completely different person.
Overall, seven Army bases whose names were changed in 2023 because they honored Confederate leaders are all reverting back to their original names, the Army said.
The announcement came just hours after President Donald Trump previewed the decision, telling troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that he was changing the names back. Fort Bragg, which was changed to Fort Liberty by the Biden administration, was the first to have its original name restored after the Army found another person with the same last name. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was with Trump at Fort Bragg, signed an order restoring the name in February.
“Can you believe they changed that name in the last administration for a little bit?” Trump said. “We’ll forget all about that.”
In March, Hegseth reversed the decision changing Fort Benning in Georgia to Fort Moore.
To restore the original names of the additional seven bases, the Army once again found service members with the same last names to honor. Besides Fort Rucker in Alabama, those bases are Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Pickett and Fort Robert E. Lee in Virginia, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Polk in Louisiana.
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
