Fort Eisenhower Name Change is Inappropriate

Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that he has ordered the names of seven military installations changed – including Augusta’s own Fort Eisenhower.

For those with a very short memory, the Fort Eisenhower moniker was adopted in 2023. Prior to that, it operated as Fort Gordon, its name honoring Confederate General and former Georgia Governor John Brown Gordon. The renaming was part of a larger Biden administration program, based on a law passed by Congress, to no longer honor Confederate commanders by naming military installations after them.

That seems fair. Those that chose to actively disengage from the United States being honored by the government they fought against seem both odd and anti-intuitive. I understand that there’s an element of sentimentality and nostalgia attached to places – particularly places where people have served - but this seems like a move, for a variety of reasons, which defies logic.

It should be understood that the switch from Fort Gordon to Fort Eisenhower represented a real investment. It costs money and man hours to establish a new name. And while some may consider reestablishing Fort Gordon as a step forward, this isn’t like returning a pair of shoes that didn’t quite fit. There are no refunds. There aren’t old signs and stationery filed under ‘just in case’ in a DoD warehouse somewhere. All those tasks accomplished, and costs incurred when the fort shifted from Gordon to Eisenhower, will repeat. It’s more money and effort out the door, which doesn’t feel appropriate for an administration that has promised to eliminate waste.

So, what is the goal?

Well, it is not a military installation named after a Confederate general. In a slick slight of hand, President Trump is rejecting Biden-era policy – as is his wont – but not going so far as to actually set the wayback machine to a time when John Brown Gordon might be celebrated. Instead, he has found another Gordon that allows him to keep the name while eschewing the controversy. It’s not a new idea. Earlier this year Fort Bragg, which was originally named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg and had been renamed Fort Liberty, reverted to Bragg. Now, however, it is named after Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II paratrooper. A similar gambit is being attempted at Fort Eisenhower. Should it become Fort Gordon once again, it will be named for Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, whose gave his life in the Battle of Mogadishu and was immortalized in the book and film “Black Hawk Down.”

An American hero for sure, but then again, so was Dwight David Eisenhower.

Comparing who deserves to be honored and immortalized is a tricky business. I in no way want to dismiss or diminish the contributions of Master Sgt. Gordon. But Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II. He was the General of the Army. He oversaw the invasion of Normandy. He was the President of the United States. The fact that there was not a fort named after Eisenhower already is remarkable. The idea that we are debating the suitability of Augusta – a community Eisenhower had ties to - as the home for a Fort Eisenhower is ridiculous.

I understand that change is hard. Although I have stopped calling Wellstar/MCG/Georgia Regents by its old Talmadge Hospital tag, I find it as difficult as anyone to adopt new names for old institutions – particularly those that loom large over the community. I still occasionally make the Augusta College slip – and it hasn’t operated under that name in almost 30 years. But just because we are comfortable with what something is called doesn’t make it the most appropriate choice.

Besides, we still have the Gordon Highway.