On Monday, the Naming Commission released its first report, which focuses specifically on recommending new U.S. Army base names for bases currently named for Confederate officers, to Congress. In total, the anticipated price tag is $21 million to rename nine bases.
Among those nine under consideration for renaming is Alabama's Fort Rucker near Daleville in Dale County, part of the Wiregrass region.
Fort Rucker is named for Edmund Winchester Rucker, who served in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
The base opened up on May 1, 1942 as Camp Rucker officially, which according to the report, was a part of the rapid expansion of the U.S. military while the country was in the throes of World War II.
Currently, Fort Rucker is home to flight training for U.S. Army Aviators. It is also the site for the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and the United States Army Aviation Museum.
The estimated annual economic impact Fort Rucker has on the region is valued at $2.2 billion.
According to the Naming Commission report, the estimated cost of renaming Fort Rucker is $1.5 million.
The commission recommended the name of Fort Rucker be changed to Fort Novosel after Medal of Honor recipient Michael J. Novosel, Sr., who served in Vietnam.
During his time in Vietnam, Novosel flew 2,543 extraction missions and rescued more than 5,500 seriously wounded soldiers.
In the coming days, the Naming Commission will release reports to address assets on the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy campuses, and another to address all Department of Defense assets not covered in the first two parts.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
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