Leadership from the Senate and House Armed Services Committee announced their appointments to panels in charge of gathering input from local communities and developing an implementation plan for renaming military assets that commemorate the Confederacy.

The committees being created in accordance to section 370 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, to the Commission on the Naming of Items of the U.S. Department of Defense That Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily With the Confederate States of America.

According to the law, the committee must submit their finding to the Armed Services Committee no later than October 2022. The Secretary of Defense has until January 1, 2024 to implement the commission’s plan.

A Senate Armed Services Committee press release explains that the eight-person commission will be composed of four appointments from the U.S. Secretary of Defense, two appointments from the Ranking Members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and  two appointments from the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

Below are the appointment selections from the HASC and SASC:

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee chose U.S. Army Lt. General (retired) Thomas P. Bostick.

U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-WA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee chose Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch III.

U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee chose Jerry Buchanan.

U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee chose Rep. Austin Scott.

For a complete biographies of the appointment selection, please visit the SASC’s press release on the topic.

Photo by U.S. Army