Fort Polk name change could cost $1.4M
Published 10:39 am Thursday, August 11, 2022
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The Naming Commission released its final report on recommended new Army base names to Congress on Monday, which included a cost estimate for each installation and a 17-page list of assets at each installation that will need to be replaced.
That list includes everything from signage to 300 recycling bins at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, to a sign over a softball field at Fort Hood, Texas.
The total cost for all renaming efforts is estimated to be $21 million.
Fort Polk’s renaming, and its expenses, are not limited to the installation. Chairman of the formerly named Fort Polk Progress organization Rick Allen said the organization has paid $30,000 to change its own name ahead of the installation’s renaming.
“We used the opportunity to branch out to a state-wide effort, and we are excited about not only protecting the military assets across the state but seeing them flourish,” Allen said.
The Naming Commission has recommended Fort Polk be renamed Fort Johnson in honor of William Henry Johnson, a black Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Army during World War I.
The new names are expected to be implemented no later than Jan. 2024.