Senate Armed Services Committee To Remove Names Of Confederate Fighters From Military Assets

The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to remove the names of Confederate soldiers and other fighters from bases, buildings, ships, and other military assets, CNN reported. The process is likely to take about three years. President Trump has vowed to oppose the move.

The George Floyd protests have shined a light on racism, not just in policing, but in other areas of life as well. Currently, one of the areas in which racism has been an issue in the national conversation is the matter of honoring Confederate generals and other fighters. Across the country, statues and other memorials honor figures such as Robert E. Lee or John B. Castleman. In fact, according to Al Jazeera, at one time there were as many as 771 such statues across the country, mostly in the South.

The names of Confederate fighters aren’t just limited to statues and monuments, however. In the military, several “assets” — bases, ships, and other things — bear the names of Confederate fighters.

On Thursday, the Senate committee, led by Republicans, voted to retire those names. Specifically, the committee’s vote establishes a review board that, over the next three years, will identify which assets are named for Confederates and, thus, will have to go.

The list of military assets containing such names is lengthy and includes 10 bases, according to a 2017 Library of Congress document. Those include North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, Virginia’s Fort A.P. Hill, and Texas’ Fort Hood, among others.

There are currently no U.S. Navy ships bearing the names of Confederate soldiers, although one vessel, the U.S.S. Chancellorsville, bears the name of a Civil War battle that, by some measures, was a major Confederate victory.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, called the vote a “first step.”

“We’ve got a long ways to go on that issue,” he said.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was one committee member who opposed it, however.

“I oppose the amendment, I voted no on it. And I spoke against it in the committee and voiced my reservations for it,” Hawley said.

Also opposing the move is President Donald Trump. As Military Times reported on Wednesday, Trump used Twitter to signal his opposition to the move.

“These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom… My Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations. Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!” he wrote.