Fort Rucker will officially be redesignated Fort Novosel during ceremonies April 10, 2023, at Veterans Park on post. The name honors Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr., a Medal of Honor recipient with ties to Army Aviation and the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. (U.S. Army)
(Tribune News Service) — The U.S. Army has set the date for the renaming of Fort Rucker.
Fort Rucker will officially be redesignated Fort Novosel during ceremonies April 10 at Veterans Park on post. The ceremony isn’t open to the public but will be livestreamed on the post’s Facebook page.
The new name honors Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr., a Medal of Honor recipient with ties to Army Aviation, the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, and the Wiregrass region in southeast Alabama.
“Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr., epitomizes what an Army Aviation Soldier should be,” said Maj. Gen. Michael C. McCurry, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general. “His legacy of courage under fire in support of soldiers on the ground is what we train for and expect of our soldiers. It is an honor for the Home of Army Aviation to bear his name.”
The post is one of nine Army installations that currently bear names with ties to the Confederacy. Rucker is named for Col. Edmund Rucker, a brigade commander in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
Renaming Rucker will cost the Army some $1.5 million dollars, according to Congressional reports.
Other bases with new names will be Fort Benning, Ga., renamed Fort Moore after Lt. Gen. Hal and Julia Moore; Fort Bragg, N.C., renamed Fort Liberty; Fort Gordon, Ga., renamed Fort Eisenhower for Gen. Dwight Eisenhower; Fort A.P. Hill, Va., renamed Fort Walker for Dr. Mary Walker; Fort Hood, Texas, renamed Fort Cavazos after Gen. Richard Cavazos; Fort Lee, Va., renamed Fort Gregg-Adams after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams; Fort Pickett, Va., renamed Fort Barfoot after Tech. Sgt. Van T. Barfoot; and Fort Polk, La., renamed Fort Johnson after Sgt. William Henry Johnson.
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