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Liberty for all

Fort Bragg’s history traced to 1918 as installation prepares to take new name

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As Fort Bragg becomes Fort Liberty, it is important to remember the history of the military installation.

Here are key dates in the history of the world’s largest military posts.

Aug. 21, 1918: The War Department issues General Order No. 77 establishing Camp Bragg as a field artillery cantonment. The same day, Congress authorizes $14.5 million for the camp, including funds to purchase more than 50,000 acres in Cumberland and Hoke counties.

Sept. 4, 1918: Camp Bragg is officially established. Construction begins in the following weeks.

Feb. 8, 1919: Men and materiel from Camp McClellan, Alabama, arrive. They include artillery forces, a balloon company, a radio detachment and an air squadron.

April 1, 1919: The airfield at Camp Bragg is renamed Pope Field in honor of 1st Lt. Harley H. Pope, who died when his plane crashed into a bridge on the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville.

After months of preparation, name change will be final.

May 24, 1919: Camp Bragg’s population tops more than 500 officers and more than 15,000 enlisted men as initial construction ends. Nearly 6,000 animals also call Bragg home.

Aug. 23, 1921: The War Department orders Camp Bragg abandoned as the country demobilizes following World War I.

Sept. 14, 1921: Through the efforts of then-post commander Brig. Gen. Albert Bowley, Camp Bragg is saved and will become a permanent Army installation.

Sept. 9, 1922: Camp Bragg is officially renamed Fort Bragg.

July 1941: Fort Bragg becomes the largest Army post by population, with more than 67,000 soldiers.

Aug. 15, 1942: The 82nd Airborne Division moves to Fort Bragg.

Sept. 18, 1947: Upon the creation of the U.S. Air Force, Pope Field becomes Pope Air Force Base.

'My son died for liberty,' says Gold Star mom.

April 10, 1952: The Psychological Warfare Center is established at Fort Bragg to help supervise training in psychological warfare and Special Forces. The school later changes its name to the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. This same year, Army Special Forces Command is established, cementing Fort Bragg as home of the Airborne and Special Operations forces.

1960s: Fort Bragg soldiers respond on short notice to numerous missions at home and abroad. Paratroopers respond to riots in Detroit and to counter antiwar demonstrations in Washington, D.C. They later deploy to Vietnam amid the Tet Offensive and deploy domestically following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help keep peace and protect government buildings.

Oct. 12, 1961: President John F. Kennedy visits Fort Bragg and authorizes the exclusive use of the Green Beret for U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers.

Oct. 25, 1983: Paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division take part in Operation Urgent Fury, the airborne invasion of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada.

Dec. 20, 1989: 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers take Torrijos International Airfield in Panama after a combat jump that marks the start of Operation Just Cause.

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Aug. 6, 1990: Four days after Iraq invades Kuwait, Fort Bragg soldiers are among the first to deploy to Saudi Arabia in preparation for Operation Desert Storm.

Sept. 11, 2001: Security on Fort Bragg tightens following the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Weeks later, Fort Bragg soldiers are among the first to deploy to Afghanistan.

March 20, 2003: More than 22,000 Fort Bragg troops are deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq as the war in the latter begins.

October 2010: Soldiers and staff of U.S. Army Forces Command begin to arrive at Fort Bragg as a result of the base realignment and closure process, which moved the command from Fort McPherson, Georgia.

Feb. 28, 2011: Pope Air Force Base becomes Pope Army Airfield after it is once again absorbed into Fort Bragg.

Jan. 1, 2021: The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act becomes law after the House and Senate override a veto by former President Donald Trump. The NDAA includes a provision creating a commission to explore renaming military installations that honor figures from the Confederacy.

March 2, 2021: The eight-member Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense That Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America is formed. It’s more commonly referred to as the Naming Commission.

May 2022: The Naming Commission officially recommends Fort Bragg be renamed Fort Liberty.

Oct. 1, 2022: After recommending changes to the names of nine Army posts, the Naming Commission dissolves.

Oct. 6, 2022: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin concurs with the Naming Commission’s recommendations.

Jan. 5, 2023: Pentagon leaders direct the Defense Department to implement all of the commission’s recommendations ahead of a Jan. 1, 2024, deadline.

June 2, 2023: Fort Bragg will officially be renamed Fort Liberty.

Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Army, military

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