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Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Breaks with Trump on Renaming Bases with Confederate Names

HeadlineJul 10, 2020

The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, broke with President Trump Thursday and signaled support for changing the names of U.S. military bases named after Confederate generals. Milley told the House Armed Services Committee that there is no place in the armed forces for “symbols of racism.”

Gen. Mark Milley: “We’ve also got to take a hard look at the symbology, the symbols, things like Confederate flags and statues and bases and all that kind of stuff. The Confederate — the Confederacy — the American Civil War was fought, and it was an act of rebellion. It was an act of treason at the time against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution. And those officers turned their back on their oath.”

At least 10 U.S. bases are named after Confederate generals, including Fort Benning, Fort Bragg and Fort Hood.

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