Bragg to Liberty and Back Again: Ceremony to Rechristen Army Post Once Named for a Confederate
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The short-lived existence of Fort Liberty is set to an end Friday when the nation’s largest Army installation officially returns to its former name: Fort Bragg. Christened a century ago in honor of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, the post in North Carolina was renamed in 2023 amid a drive to remove symbols […]
Fort Liberty Will Be Fort Bragg Again. But There’s a Twist to the Controversial Name
Less than two years after Fort Bragg officially became Fort Liberty, the North Carolina Army base’s name is changing back to Fort Bragg. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Army officials Monday to change the name. But it’s not the same soldier for whom the base was initially named. Instead of renaming the base after […]
Trading Dip for Zyn? Nearly One-Quarter of Soldiers at Fort Liberty Are Using Nicotine Pouches
Somewhere, a small group of soldiers is formed in a loose circle, attention fixed on a noncommissioned officer at the center, delivering sharp, no-nonsense instructions. Their voice carries authority, punctuated by rhythmic spit of smokeless tobacco into a bottle. Dip and other tobacco use has been a tradition in the military for generations — and […]
Army Tells Lawmakers It Will Review All Training Materials Amid Outcry over Botched Fort Liberty Briefing
The Army is reviewing much of its training materials for ill-informed or partisan material after a terrorism briefing at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, erroneously listed mainstream activist groups, including pro-life and animal rights advocates, as terror organizations. Images of the PowerPoint presentation went viral in July as Republican lawmakers and far-right commentators seized on part […]
Fort Liberty Soldier Gets Booted After Indictment for Weapons Trafficking, Lying About White Nationalist Ties
A paratrooper at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, who was indicted last week on charges of weapons trafficking and lying about his association with a white nationalist group has been removed from the Army, Col. Mary Ricks, a service spokesperson, said Tuesday. Spc. Kai Nix was indicted Aug. 14 by a grand jury and arrested the […]
Special Forces Soldier Justified in Shooting 'Suspicious' Russian in His Yard Near Fort Liberty, Police Say
A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was justified in fatally shooting an “aggressive” Russian national photographing utility poles in his yard for a survey project, according to investigators in North Carolina. The man who died was identified as Ramzan Daraev, “a Russian native from Chechnya who entered the United States across the southern border in […]
Fort Liberty Soldier Sentenced to Over 3 Years for Romance Scams, Bilked Over $350,000 from Victims
A Fort Liberty soldier has been sentenced to 40 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to three counts of money laundering related to “an elaborate series of romance scams,” according to federal authorities. Specialist Sanda G. Frimpong, who was serving on active duty until his arrest in 2023, was ordered to pay back over […]
Prosecutors Say a Senior Enlisted Leader at Fort Liberty Smuggled Meth, Put Strip Club on Travel Card
A senior noncommissioned officer based out of Fort Liberty, North Carolina, faces numerous charges tied to a yearslong scheme to smuggle methamphetamine across the U.S.-Mexico border. Military prosecutors say Sgt. Maj. Jorge E. Garcia, the career counselor for U.S. Army Forces Command, or FORSCOM, made numerous unauthorized trips abroad between 2021 and 2022, smuggled meth, […]
National Guardsman Arrested at Fort Liberty for Allegedly Trying to Arrange a Revenge Murder over Mother’s Death
A Raleigh man was arrested Saturday morning for trying to hire someone to kill a man involved in a fatal highway crash that killed his mother almost eight years ago. Rhett Michael Barlow, 22, was arrested at Fort Liberty by the Wake Forest Police Department and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. Barlow is accused of soliciting to murder Donald Caulder Jr. […]
Army Wraps $95 Million Project Renovating Moldy Fort Liberty Barracks, Demolishing Others
The Army has finished major renovations and demolition of Fort Liberty, North Carolina’s troubled Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks, which the service deemed unlivable after a slew of complaints from soldiers and media scrutiny. Three barracks buildings were renovated and are set to house soldiers again in early 2024. But a dozen barracks were determined to […]