The Naming Commission that Congress tasked with considering removing Confederate names from DOD bases has released a comprehensive list of more than 750 DOD “items” it will review to determine whether they “commemorate the Confederacy,” as The Hill reported.
In addition to full installations named after Confederate leaders, the new list includes a wide range of individual items, including street names, gate signs and a sports bar at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Most of the items relate to the names of installations already identified as carrying Confederate-linked monikers. But some of the items are as far away from the former Confederacy as Washington state, Hawaii, Germany and Japan.
“We will update the inventory list in collaboration with the Department of Defense, including its sub-agencies and the military branches, as we continue to identify assets within our area of consideration,” retired Adm. Michelle Howard, the commission’s chair, said. “This work is vital to understand the scope and estimated cost of renaming or removing Confederate-named assets and will enable us to provide the most accurate report possible to Congress.”
The commission will report its recommendations to Congress in October. It recently announced a list of new names it will consider for several Army installations, culled from more than 34,000 public suggestions, as On Base reported.
File photo of Adm. Howard by Swedish Maj. Kristina Swaan