Latest news with #FortHood
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fort Hood Is Back, Thanks To Secretary Hegseth
In a surprise announcement, the U.S. Army revealed that Fort Cavazos will once again be called Fort Hood — this time honoring a different Hood entirely. The news broke on June 16 via a series of social media posts from the official U.S. Army Fort Hood X account. The announcement detailed that official orders for the name change have been received and are now being implemented, with an official renaming ceremony scheduled for a later date. 'The installation is currently updating the online presence, including Facebook and the website, and will update physical signage and materials at a later date,' the post continued. Col. Robert B. Hood was recognized for his valor near Thiaucourt, France, where he coordinated artillery fire while under heavy machine-gun fire and shelling. When his crew was lost, Hood reorganized the unit under fire and restored combat readiness within minutes. The Army directed further questions to its Public Affairs Media Press Desk and shared a link to its official announcement, which includes redesignation plans for six other installations. 'The U.S. Army will take all necessary actions to change the names of seven Army installations in honor of heroic Soldiers who served in conflicts ranging from the Civil War to the Battle of Mogadishu,' the Army press release stated. In addition to Fort Hood, installations that will be renamed include Fort Pickett (formerly Fort Barfoot), Fort Gordon (formerly Fort Eisenhower), and Fort Rucker (formerly Fort Novosel), among others. The name 'Fort Hood' was originally associated with Confederate General John Bell Hood. In 2021, a Democrat-led Congress mandated the removal of Confederate names from U.S. military bases. Fort Hood was subsequently renamed Fort Cavazos in 2023 after Gen. Richard Cavazos, the Army's first Hispanic four-star general. However, political tides shifted following the appointment of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Earlier this year, Hegseth used a similar legal workaround to restore Fort Bragg's name, re-dedicating it to WWII hero Pvt. Roland L. Bragg. The Dallas Express previously reported that similar methods could be used to restore the Fort Hood name without violating federal law. A search of military honors databases revealed several non-Confederate Hoods with distinguished service records, including Col. Robert B. Hood. The move appears to satisfy supporters of traditional military base names while complying with legal mandates to avoid Confederate associations. The Army presser emphasized that the redesignations are being made in line with Section 1749(a) of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
White House silent on deadly tragedy rocking Trump's military parade
The White House was mum Wednesday about the tragic death of a Washington, DC woman who was hit by a truck carrying an M1-Abrams tank that took part in the Army parade President Trump attended Sunday. The truck was part of a convoy transporting military vehicles back to Fort Hood, Texas from the parade, which celebrated the Army's 250th anniversary and fell on Trump's 79th birthday. The woman, identified as Sierra Nichole Smith, 39, died at the intersection of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road in the city's Northeast quadrant en route to Jessup, Maryland on June 16. Emergency personnel performed lifesaving measures but were unsuccessful. Police who conducted a preliminary investigation said Smith ran into the road and stumbled in front of a truck carrying the 70-ton tank. According to the Metropolitan Police Department she was dragged for several blocks, then got hit by a 2007 Chevy Suburban that was driving behind the truck in the convoy. The drivers were private contractors and not members of the military. No one has been charged with a crime. One local official called it 'just a tragedy.' 'These tanks did not need to be on local streets and consequently they didn't need to be hauled away in a big convoy,' DC's 'shadow senator' Paul Strauss told the Daily Mail. 'In some ways it's a very random accident that could have occurred with another vehicle. But it really begs the question: Why was this necessary to have all this equipment here? We don't know if enough precautions were taken. It's not an everyday occurrence that military hardware takes over the city in the way it did,' he said. He called it an 'unneccssary exercise done for the sole purpose of appeasing the president's ego on his birthday. And it's unfortunate.' 'The details that have been made public are just horrific. She was dragged for blocks. It's horrific for so many reasons,' Strauss said. A Washington Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman said officers responded to 'an adult female, unconscious and not breathing, suffering from life-threatening injuries,' according to local media reports. USA Today, after reviewing an Army document on the incident, reported that an initial police investigation cleared the truck driver and said no military personnel were involved. The tanks were part of a parade costing up to $45 million and consisting of 120 vehicles, 6,000 soldiers, flyovers and a parachute jump. Trump was highly attuned to the parade, touting it beforehand and delivering a short speech at the event while accompanied by first lady Melania Trump. trip to Canada for the G7, and denying the celebration had to do with his birthday.
Malay Mail
15-06-2025
- Malay Mail
CBS News: Texas base Fort Cavazos locked down as US military investigates active shooter threat
HOUSTON, June 15 — Fort Cavazos is under lockdown as military officials respond to reports of a potential active shooter on the base, CBS News reported late yesterday. A spokesperson said that emergency protocols were initiated in response to an incident on the base, CBS reported. Fort Cavazos, formerly Fort Hood, is in Texas. — Reuters
Reuters
15-06-2025
- Reuters
Fort Cavazos under lockdown amid active shooter investigation, CBS News reports
June 14 (Reuters) - Fort Cavazos is under lockdown as military officials respond to reports of a potential active shooter on the base, CBS News reported late on Saturday. A spokesperson said that emergency protocols were initiated in response to an incident on the base, CBS reported. Fort Cavazos, formerly Fort Hood, is in Texas.
News.com.au
11-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Trump orders names restored to military bases honoring Confederates
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has ordered the restoration of the names of several US military bases that honored officers who fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. While the redesignations will return the facilities to their original names, they come with a twist, as the bases will ostensibly honor other military personnel who have the same names, and not those who fought to maintain slavery in the South. The Republican president made the announcement in a speech at the country's largest military base, which he had renamed to Fort Bragg in February after predecessor Joe Biden changed it to Fort Liberty in 2023. "We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee," Trump told soldiers. "We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It's no time to change." The move reverses a renaming process begun in the wake of the death of George Floyd, whose murder by police in 2020 focused a spotlight on systemic racism. A naming commission ultimately recommended hundreds of locations be redesignated, among them nine US Army bases named after Confederate officers who had fought for the South in defense of slavery during the country's 1861-1865 Civil War. The Pentagon said Tuesday that the new base names, while consistent with the last names of the Confederate officers, actually honor different military veterans. For example, while the original Fort Bragg honors Confederate general Braxton Bragg, the new name commemorates Roland L. Bragg, a little-known World War II hero, officials said. Fort Robert E Lee in Virginia, which was redesignated Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of two African-American servicemembers, was changed back to Fort Lee. But the new name honors Medal of Honor recipient Private Fitz Lee who fought in the Spanish-American War, said the Pentagon, and not the Robert E Lee who was overall commander of the Confederate army.
