CNN
—
The US Military renamed Virginia’s Fort Lee army base Thursday in honor of two Black service members, following a branch-wide push to rename bases named after Accomplice leaders.
The bottom can be “redesignated” as Fort Gregg-Adams after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, the Military introduced on Twitter. It had been named after Gen. Robert E. Lee, who led Accomplice forces within the American Civil Battle.
“Each Troopers excelled within the subject of sustainment and made important contributions to #USArmy historical past,” the Military mentioned in a tweet. “We’re proud to honor the braveness, sacrifice, and variety of those distinguished Troopers and in addition our civilians.”
Gregg’s profession spanned practically 36 years, throughout which he “rose from the rank of personal to three-star basic,” in accordance with the Military. He helped desegregate the Military, together with at Fort Lee, in accordance with proposals from a congressional naming fee final yr.
He “would be the solely dwelling particular person in fashionable Military historical past to have an set up named after him,” the department mentioned in a assertion.
Adams additionally furthered desegregation efforts by serving as the primary Black officer within the Ladies’s Military Auxiliary Corps and led the “first and solely all-Black WAC unit to serve abroad” in Europe throughout World Battle II, in accordance with a video posted by the Military.
In an occasion held on the bottom Thursday, the commanding basic of the bottom honored Gregg’s and Adams’ braveness and mentioned the redesignation exemplifies “our nation’s and our Military’s progress.”
“By exceeding all expectations, by breaking by means of seen and invisible obstacles, by doing so with braveness and dignity, they provided their fellow Individuals hope for a greater tomorrow,” mentioned Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly mentioned.
Following the racial reckoning over the 2020 demise of George Floyd in police custody, the Protection Division opted to rename quite a lot of bases. Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin final yr accredited the congressional naming committee’s proposals to take away Accomplice monikers from 9 army bases and substitute a few of them with names of serious individuals of shade who’ve served all through the ranks.
Earlier this month, Fort Rucker was renamed Fort Novosel after Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Novosel Sr., a Medal of Honor recipient who served as a medevac helicopter pilot who flew 2,543 extraction missions in Vietnam and rescued hundreds.
