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U.S. bases by state · from 1918

Fort Bragg

U.S. Army installation in North Carolina.

History

Fort Bragg (renamed Fort Liberty from 2023 to 2025) is a U.S. Army military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 military personnel.

Covering more than 251 square miles (650 km2), Fort Bragg is home to the Army's XVIII Airborne Corps and serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, which oversees the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and the 75th Ranger Regiment. Additionally, it hosts the 82nd Airborne Division, United States Army Western Hemisphere Command, U.S. Army Reserve Command, and Womack Army Medical Center. Fort Bragg also operates two airfields: Pope Field, where the U.S. Air Force stations global airlift and special operations units, as well as the Air Force Combat Control School, and Simmons Army Airfield, which supports Army aviation units for airborne and special operations missions.

The installation was originally named for Confederate general Braxton Bragg. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense renamed the installation "Fort Liberty" due to controversy surrounding memorials to Confederate leaders. In February 2025, the U.S. Army changed the name of the installation back to "Fort Bragg", but in honor of World War II paratrooper Roland L. Bragg instead of the Confederate general.

Text from Wikipedia: Fort Bragg, CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Key dates

  1. 1918
    Camp Bragg was established in 1918 as an artillery training ground.
  2. 1921
    Due to the post-war cutbacks, the camp was nearly closed for good when the War Department issued orders to close the camp on 7 August 1921.
  3. 1961
    In 1961, the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was activated at Fort Bragg, with the mission of training counter-insurgency forces in Southeast Asia.
  4. 1970
    On 17 February 1970, Captain Jeffrey R. MacDonald murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters.
  5. 1994
    On 23 March 1994, twenty-four members of Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division were killed and over 100 others injured while preparing for a routine airborne training operation during the Green Ramp disaster at neighboring Pope Air Force base.
  6. 2000
    In 2000, the racial makeup of the base was 58.1% White, 25.3% African-American, 1.2% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 8.3% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. 15.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
  7. 2011
    Forces Command hosted 24 June 2011, an Army "Casing of the Colors" ceremony on Fort McPherson and an "uncasing of colors ceremony" on 1 August 2011, at Fort Bragg.
  8. 2012
    On 28 June 2012, Specialist Ricky G. Elder shot and killed Lieutenant Colonel Roy L. Tisdale of the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade during a safety brief.
  9. 2025
    On 10 February 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum directing the U.S. Army to rename Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, but this time in honor of Private First Class Roland L. Bragg, rather than the original namesake.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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