It's high time to dump the Confederate names tarring the honor of our Army

By "Soldiers Diary"


Best Defense guest columnist

It's 2014 and we still have Army bases named in honor of generals who
fought for the Confederacy.  It's
ridiculous, absurd, and time that these bases be renamed.

Jamie Malanowski last year wrote a fantastic op-ed for the New York Times titled "Misplaced
Honor."  He detailed the numerous Army bases, mostly in the South, that are named after generals
who fought for the South and were responsible for the deaths of tens of
thousands of Americans.  These bases
include Fort Lee, Fort Hood, and Fort Bragg, to name but a few.

As we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the U.S. Army should take a
hard look at the names of Army installations across the United States and
rename those installations.

It would be fitting to change Fort Bragg to Fort Gavin, the first
commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and World War II hero.  Fort Hood could be renamed Fort Patton, Fort
Rucker could be renamed Fort Marshall, and you could even rename Fort Lee, Fort
Calrissian.  It sounds ridiculous at
first, but not after taking into consideration the fact that Lando is not
responsible for more American soldiers' deaths than were Nazi Germany and
Imperial Japan combined. Nor did he lead a force in order to preserve a slavery-based
economy.

We can still honor the soldiers who fought for the South, and monuments
on the battlefields like Gettysburg are still appropriate.  However, in 2014, having bases named after
the leadership of the Confederacy is just a bit outdated.  I do not speak for African-American soldiers,
but I wonder if anyone has ever asked them if they feel it is appropriate.

This is not all the Army and the other services should do to advance in
to the 21st century.  Other forms of
absurdity continue that the military should take a stand against.  A start would be to end support such as
providing a color guard for professional football games that involve the team
from Washington D.C.  Call a spade a
spade, recognize that the term "Redskin" is a derogatory
term, and end support for that football team until Dan "Chainsaw" Snyder also realizes
it is 2014.

"Soldiers Diary"
is an active-duty Army officer. This article represents his own views, which do
not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army, the Defense Department, or Dan
Snyder .