News & Notes
Welcome to Fort Moore
By Major Justin L. Nottingham and Captain Hannah M. Miller
In August of 2022, the Naming Commission identified nine installations, including what was once Fort Benning, Georgia, for redesignation. Through the redesignation process, Congress sought to remove commemorations of a Confederate past; but, redesignation also provided a unique opportunity to honor individuals that all Americans could look to for inspiration. A post rich with history in training our Army’s infantrymen, Rangers, paratroopers, cavalry, and tankers in cutting-edge techniques and technology needed a name that accurately portrayed that history, grit, and innovation. While there were many deserving candidates, Lieutenant General (LTG) Harold (“Hal”) Moore and his wife, Julia Moore, best captured this spirit.
Of course, a significant amount of legal work between August 2022 and May 2023 helped make Fort Moore a reality. Between the commission’s recommendations and self-imposed changes, Fort Moore and U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) leadership and its staff sections took on numerous projects to be ready for the redesignation and the ceremony that would communicate it to the world. One such project was a campaign to familiarize the student population, permanent parties, and the country with LTG and Mrs. Moore. Using the hashtag #BeMoore, creating through the Public Affairs Office a five-part miniseries that highlights the Moores’ accomplishments, and generating poker chips for ceremony attendees with a QR code that directs those interested to the miniseries, Fort Moore leadership aggressively and successfully championed the name change.
These products, of course, required the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate (OSJA) Administrative Law Section’s review, including the privately donated poker chips and the miniseries regarding fair use, copyright, and eligibility for awards submission. Behind the scenes, other significant legal reviews took place as well. For example, recommended changes to the National Infantry Museum spurred legal analysis, as it is a private organization intimately related to Fort Moore.
Fort Moore leaders, along with members of the Moore family (at right), unveil an official Fort Moore sign during a redesignation ceremony held at the post’s historic Doughboy Stadium on 11 May 2023. (Credit: Patrick Albright)
In addition to these permanent changes, questions regarding static displays, flyovers, additional gifts, and security concerns for the ceremony also needed answers. At the same time, the Office of The Judge Advocate General was contacting the affected installations to ensure that a new Department of the Army General Order would be in place to establish General Court-Martial Convening Authorities under Article 22, Uniform Code of Military Justice.1
The Contract and Fiscal Law Section was working around the clock to review requests for name changes to signage, new uniforms, wraps to Department of Emergency Services vehicles, and updates to software programs. Since the renaming ceremony would take place in historic Doughboy Stadium, money was also spent to get it looking photo ready. The Contract and Fiscal Law Section also worked to streamline expenditures by working with the Mission Installation Contracting Command (MICC) Government Purchase Card (GPC) program director.
Every staff section and the garrison commander received weekly updates on all projects in preparation of costs. The contract and fiscal law attorney’s attendance at these weekly meetings ensured necessary contract vehicles were utilized in lieu of GPCs, improved plans based on unrealistic contracting delivery dates, and supported proper clothing or other item purchases for contractors. The meetings also made it clear which items needed further legal analysis: for example, changes in the Residential Communities Initiative area and monuments on leased land that private organizations maintain.
The collaborative efforts of so many culminated in a redesignation event rich with symbolism that celebrated LTG and Julia Moore’s enormous contributions to the Army and explained how these contributions intersected with the installation and the units that have called it home. Doughboy Stadium’s bleachers were filled with infantry and armor trainees, officer candidates wearing ascots, drill sergeants wearing campaign hats, paratroopers wearing red berets, and cavalry Soldiers wearing Stetsons. Special guests included Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Joseph Marm, a platoon leader during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, scores of Soldiers with whom the Moores served throughout their career, three World War II veterans, community and political leaders, representatives from the American Red Cross, where Julia was a dedicated volunteer, and more than fifty members of the Moore Family.
The ceremony began with Soldiers in vintage uniforms helping the master of ceremonies tell 114 years of history on the installation, to include the Army’s first parachute jump on Lawson Army Airfield—a tactic LTG Moore would later work to perfect as a parachute tester. The garrison command team cased the old colors, held by a female sergeant major, and unfurled the new colors, held by a female private first class.
The MCoE Band, with vocal accompaniment, played specific songs at junctures of the presentation that captured moments in the Moores’ life together. Family members of the Moores, as well as those who served with then-Colonel Moore in the 7th Cavalry Regiment at Ia Drang Valley, shared stories and colorful anecdotes. Gold Star Families read poetry and shared the impact of changes to the Army’s next of kin notification process that Julia Moore helped bring about. As UH-1 “hueys”2 flew overhead—the helicopters used to conduct air assault operations at Landing Zone X-ray—videos displayed the unveiling of new lettering at Fort Moore’s historic entrances by two Army Families while the Moores’ children and the MCoE command team unveiled the official sign at the front of the stage.
The host of the event, McoE Commanding General Major General Curtis Buzzard, emphasized that LTG Hal and Julia Moore—who are both buried on post—were American heroes of exemplary character whose time at this base forever changed the way the Army values and takes care of its own. Working behind the scenes alongside many stakeholders, the legal team was proud to contribute to the numerous efforts that made this beautiful ceremony possible, which paid tribute to these two deserving individuals and left the audience feeling inspired, having witnessed their own small piece of history. TAL
MAJ Nottingham is an associate professor in the Criminal Law Department at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
CPT Miller is an administrative law attorney with the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Moore, Georgia.
Notes
1. UCMJ art. 22 (2022).
2. “The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, commonly known as the ‘Huey,’ was a multipurpose utility helicopter famous for its widespread use during the Vietnam War.” Bell UH-1H Iroquois (Huey), Museum of Flight, https://www.museumofflight.org/exhibits-and-events/aircraft/bell-uh-1h-iroquois-huey (last visited Nov. 14, 2023).