Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has signed off on the recommendations of the Naming Commission to rename installations, monuments, buildings, streets and other DOD assets that are currently named after Confederate leaders. The process is to be completed by Jan. 1, 2024.

“The installations and facilities that our department operates are more than vital national security assets,” Austin wrote in a Thursday memo. “They are also powerful public symbols of our military, and of course, they are the places where our service members and their families work and live. The names of these installations and facilities should inspire all those who call them home, fully reflect the history and the values of the United States and commemorate the best of the republic that we are all sworn to protect.”

The commission recommended new names for nine Army bases, names that Austin said in his memo “echo with honor, patriotism and history.”

In a series of reports to Congress, the commission also recommended name changes at the military academies and for more than 1,100 other assets, as On Base reported. Its recommendations followed visits to installations across the country and meetings with community leaders.

Naming Commission illustration