What’s In A Name; The SECDEF’s Reinstatement Of The Warrior Ethos

What’s In A Name; The SECDEF’s Reinstatement Of The Warrior Ethos

By Robert F. Croskery, LTC, U.S Army, Retired

At first blush, the decision made by the new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, to change the name of “Ft. Liberty” back to “Ft. Bragg” (albeit not Braxton Bragg the Confederate General but Roland Bragg, a PFC hero in the Battle of the Bulge) might seem a waste of money. It is not. Millions of dollars on social engineering in the services was a waste of money; but changing the name of Ft. Liberty to Ft. Bragg is common sense.

A friend whom I respect informed me that it is not “efficacious” to change the name back to Ft. Bragg. Now, it was not “efficacious” to change the name in the first place. But when I heard it was happening, I was immediately delighted. I trained—and was course manager of a PSYOP course—at Ft. Bragg. I started to think about why this simple gesture of Pete Hegseth, a quick action setting the tone of his new leadership, brought me such joy. After all, it’s just a name.

Actually, the considerations here are far deeper. The spirit of the warrior is a collection of history, lore, legend, and symbolism. The great thing about the original use of Confederate names is contained in these truths:

1) the soldiers of the South were not, for the vast majority, “fighting to preserve slavery.” Few of them had slaves. Most could not recite any Confederate Articles about slavery or anythong else. They fought with heroism, under some amazing Generals, because they regarded their territory as having been invaded. They fought for their fellow soldiers and their families left behind.

2) General Grant recognized this truth and was kind in the terms he gave at the McClean farmhouse. (He let common soldiers, not just officers, keep their horses and return to farming.

3) After the war, the SOLDIERS met and forgave each other, INCLUDING BLACK SOLDIERS. There are many reunions and pictures, and mutual respect for the valiant spirit of the enemy.

4) Reconciliation meant healing. Not racism.

5) Veterans FROM BOTH SIDES were recognized as having done their duty and given Veteran status.

6) The recent reversal of reconciliation and renaming of the bases was not done to “fight racism”; rather, it was a political decision done for a party temporarily in power to open the sores of past grievances and exacerbate identity politics for political gain. Doing so was wrong, evil, and short-sighted. The symbolic reversal of this wrongness meets the ethos of the warrior culture.

7) I love Hal Moore. Let’s give him an Airfield.

In closing: the Democrats foisted off a corrupt puppet upon the US; a President who pardoned his whole family after illicitly lining their pockets with $20 million through multiple shell corporations. It is time to reverse his destructive attitude towards the warrior culture. As military recruiting is skyrocketing, it is clear that we are off to a great start. Thank you, Secretary Hegseth and thank you, President Trump.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Croskery

Robert F. Croskery is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel whose final assignments at USSOCOM were in the Center for Special Operations under General Dell Dailey and General Doug Brown. He is the past Chairman of adventures in Charity, and is a trial attorney licensed in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. He can be reached at rcroskery@croskerylaw.com

If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN. If you’d like to become a citizen contributor for AFNN, contact us at managingeditor@afnn.us Help keep us ad-free by donating here.

Substack: American Free News Network Substack
Truth Social: @AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA