WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum renaming Fort Liberty on Monday, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Defense. Secretary Hegseth signed the memorandum while flying aboard a C-17 from Joint Base Andrews to Stuttgart.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum Monday to bring back the original name of North Carolina’s Fort Liberty – renaming the base Fort Bragg. The massive U.S. Army complex opened in 1918 and was named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is bringing the name Bragg back to one of the Army’s largest bases, Fort Liberty, which replaced the namesake of a Confederate general in 2023.

Fort Bliss officials confirmed that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was visiting the Borderland on Monday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday renamed the Army base Fort Liberty back to its original name of Fort Bragg, according to a Department of Defense statement, undoing a 2023 name change driven by racial justice protests.

The base’s original namesake, Gen. Braxton Bragg, was a Confederate general from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles, contributing to the Confederacy’s downfall.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum on Monday night to rename the Army post known as Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, but with a twist.