August 14, 2022

The Army base in Augusta will only be known as Fort Gordon for a little more than a year. On Jan. 1, 2024, it is scheduled to be renamed, Fort Eisenhower. Fort Gordon is one of nine Army bases that were named for Confederate heroes of the Civil War that will be renamed. Another Georgia base, Fort Benning, will become Fort Moore. The renaming of the forts is part of the Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act that requires the Army to remove any names or symbols that honor those who

Augusta had a connection to the renaming of the Fort Rucker Army base in Alabama. The base will be renamed Fort Novosel, but it could have become Fort Kelly. The new name honors helicopter pilot Michael Novosel, but among the others considered for the honor was Maj. Charles Kelly, the father of Charles Kelly, who owns Computer Exchange in Augusta. The elder Kelly was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam who developed aero-medical evacuation techniques still in use today. His call sign, Dustoff, became the call sign for all aero-medical evacuations