(The Center Square) – Posthumously honoring a soldier from World War II, the world’s largest military base in North Carolina in 2025 became known again as Fort Bragg.
The home of the 82nd Airborne and Special Operations Forces, commonly known as the place where a president of the United States places his 911 call, got the name change late in the evening Feb. 10 from War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth in a memorandum. The Army base officially adopted the moniker Fort Liberty on June 2, 2023.
The base was also tied into better than $400 million worth of projects through the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026 signed by second-term Republican President Donald Trump on Thursday.
Honored in the change of name is Pfc. Roland Bragg from World War II. Bragg, of Sabattus, Maine, was born in 1923 and assigned to the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division of the 18th Airborne Corps.
According to Hegseth’s memo, Bragg was in the European theater of operations.
During “hellish conditions and amidst ferocious fighting” at the Battle of the Bulge, Hegseth wrote, Bragg saved a fellow soldier’s life by commandeering an enemy ambulance and driving it 20 miles to transport him to an allied hospital in Belgium. He was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, and the Purple Heart for wounds.
Hegseth signed the memorandum aboard a C-17 flying from Joint Base Andrews to Stuttgart, Germany.
Fort Bragg was established Sept. 4, 1918, to develop and strengthen the U.S. Army. The original name was for Gen. Braxton Bragg, honored for his courageous acts in the Mexican-American War. Sweeping name changes from the Biden administration changed the installation to Fort Liberty.
The 82nd provides the Global Response Force. U.S. Army Special Operations Command is headquartered on the base that is home to the 53,700 troops and 14,000 working civilians. Fort Bragg supports a population of 260,000 when including military families, contractors, retirees and others.
In the defense spending appropriation approved for the 65th consecutive year, an estimated 91,000 active service members in North Carolina will get 3.8% raises. North Carolina’s five major military bases plus a Coast Guard station and Army military ocean terminal on the coast have ongoing funding toward $740.48 million in projects.
The $900.6 billion bill is for Department of Defense authorizations, military construction, energy security, military pay raises, border security and strategic competition.
For the Tarheel State installations:
• At Seymour Johnson, there is a $54 million authorization for a child development center; $41 million for the Combat Arms Training Complex; and required reports related to F-15E maintenance and upgrades to F-15E Strike Eagle engine propulsion capabilities.
• At Fort Bragg, there is $400.8 million across seven areas. The largest funding is $145 million for Special Operations Forces Operational Ammunition Supply Point. Next is $80 million for a Special Operations Forces Mission Command Center and $80 million for power generation and a resilient microgrid to keep critical missions running.
Also at Fort Bragg, the bill sends $44.7 million to upgrades of the Freedom Village, known also as Forward Operating Base Freedom; $24 million for an aircraft maintenance hangar; $19 million for an automated infantry platoon battle course; and $8.1 million for the Special Operations Forces Joint Intelligence Center.
• At Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, there is $90 million for an operations facility; $51.4 million for Special Operations Forces Combat Service Support/Motor Transport Expansion; and $48.28 million for amphibious combat vehicle shelters.
• At Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, there is $40 million for the F-35 Aircraft Sustainment Center at the Fleet Readiness Center East; and $15 million for flightline utilities needed for additional F-35 squadrons. The FRC East funding ensures Marine F-35Es will be maintained for the next 50 years.
Additionally, there’s a one-for-one replacement in place for Seymour Johnson should F-15E aircraft get transferred.
