Gen. Mark Milley Says Confederates Committed “Treason”, Statues and Base Names May Be Reassessed

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has said the military will look again at bases named after Confederates. General Mark Milley is weighing into a debate that has animated the President.

Gen. Milley spoke to the House Armed Services committee about the bases still named for Confederates and he conceded that it was time to look at the issue and discuss possible changes to how the military approaches the subject.

There are currently 10 bases with names associated with the Confederacy. He said they would have “to take a hard look at the symbology” around the Civil War itself.

“The American Civil War … was an act of treason at the time against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution — and those officers turned their backs on their oath,” Milley said.

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“Now, some have a different view of that. Some think it’s heritage. Others think it’s hate.”

“The way we should do it matters as much as that we should do it.”

“So we need to have, I’ve recommended, a commission of folks to take a hard look at the bases, the statues, the names, all of this stuff, to see if we can have a rational, mature discussion,” he said.

Milley’s position differs from President Donald Trump’s. The commander-in-chief has loudly supported keeping the names of bases as they are and slammed those calling for statues to be removed.

“[M]y Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” Trump has said.

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Darragh Roche

Darragh Roche is a journalist covering U.S. politics and media