Форт Либерти: АҚШ Армиясының әскери базасы Солтүстік Каролина штатында

Military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina formerly known as Fort Bragg
the military installation in North Carolina

Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with over 52,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cumberland and Hoke counties, and borders the towns of Fayetteville, Spring Lake, and Southern Pines. Fort Liberty covers over 251 square miles (650 km2). It is the home of the Army's XVIII Airborne Corps and is the headquarters of the United States Army Special Operations Command, which oversees the U. S. Army 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and 75th Ranger Regiment. It is also home to the U. S. Army Forces Command, U. S. Army Reserve Command, and Womack Army Medical Center. Fort Liberty maintains two airfields: Pope Field, where the United States Air Force stations global airlift and special operations assets as well as the Air Force Combat Control School, and Simmons Army Airfield, where Army aviation units support the needs of airborne and special operations forces on post.

Camp Bragg was established in 1918 as an artillery training ground. The Chief of Field Artillery, General William J. Snow, was seeking an area having suitable terrain, adequate water, rail facilities, and a climate suitable for year round training, and he decided that the area now known as Fort Liberty met all of the desired criteria. Camp Bragg was named for Braxton Bragg, a former U. S. Army artillery commander and West Point graduate who later fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The aim was for six artillery brigades to be stationed there and $6,000,000 was spent on the land and cantonments. There was an airfield on the camp used by aircraft and balloons for artillery spotters. The airfield was named Pope Field on 1 April 1919, in honor of First Lieutenant Harley H. Pope, The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Due to the post war cutbacks, the camp was nearly closed for good when the War Department issued orders to close the camp on 7 August 1921. General Albert J. Bowley was commander at the camp and after much campaigning, and getting the Secretary of War to visit the camp, the closing order was canceled on 16 September 1921. The Field Artillery Board was transferred to Fort Bragg on 1 February 1922. Camp Bragg was renamed Fort Bragg, to signify becoming a permanent Army post, on 30 September 1922. From 1923 to 1924 permanent structures were constructed on Fort Bragg, including four barracks.

Following World War II, the 82nd Airborne Division was permanently stationed at Fort Bragg, the only large unit there for some time. In July 1951, the XVIII Airborne Corps was reactivated at Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg became a center for unconventional warfare, with the creation of the Psychological Warfare Center in April 1952, followed by the 10th Special Forces Group. In 1961, the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was activated at Fort Bragg, with the mission of training counter insurgency forces in Southeast Asia. Also in 1961, the "Iron Mike" statue, a tribute to all Airborne soldiers, past, present, and future was dedicated. In early 1962 the 326 Army Security Agency Company, de activated after the Korean War, was reactivated at Fort Bragg under XVIIIth Corps. In August of that year, an operational contingent of that Company was relocated to Homestead AFB Florida, due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Circa 1963, that contingent was reassigned to the newly created USASA 6th Field Station. More than 200,000 young men underwent basic combat training here during the period 1966–70. At the peak of the Vietnam War in 1968, Fort Bragg's military population rose to 57,840. In June 1972, the 1st Corps Support Command arrived at Fort Bragg. In the 1980s, there was a series of deployments of tenant units to the Caribbean, first to Grenada in 1983, Honduras in 1988, and to Panama in 1989. The 5th Special Forces Group departed Fort Bragg in the late 1980s.

In 1990, the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. In the mid and late 1990s, there was increased modernization of the facilities in Fort Bragg. The World War II wooden barracks were largely removed, a new main post exchange was built, and Devers Elementary School was opened, along with several other projects. As a result of campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, the units on Fort Liberty have seen a sizeable increase to their operations tempo (OPTEMPO), with units conducting two, three, or even four or more deployments to combat zones. As directed by law, and in accordance with the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, Fort McPherson, Georgia, closed and U. S. Army Forces Command and U. S. Army Reserve Command relocated to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. A new FORSCOM/U. S. Army Reserve Command Headquarters facility completed construction at Fort Bragg in June 2011. Forces Command hosted 24 June 2011, an Army "Casing of the Colors" ceremony on Fort McPherson and an "uncasing of colors ceremony" on 1 August 2011, at Fort Bragg. On 1 March 2011, Pope Field, the former Pope Air Force Base, was absorbed into Fort Bragg.

On 1 January 2021, the United States Senate passed a veto override of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. This new law mandated Congress to establish a commission for the renaming of Department of Defense properties named after Confederate leaders. In March 2022, the commission published a list of 87 potential names for nine Army installations, including Fort Bragg, named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg. In May 2022, the commission officially recommended that Bragg be renamed Fort Liberty. The commission further gave the Pentagon until October to accept the name change; Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin did so on 6 October 2022. Secretary Austin stated in the memorandum accepting the name change: "In the words of Admiral Michelle M. Howard, the Naming Commission's chair, the commission's goal was to inspire Service members and military communities 'with names or values that have meaning.' The Department's implementation of the Commission's recommendations will do just that and will give proud new names that are rooted in their local communities and that honor American heroes whose valor, courage, and patriotism exemplify the very best of the United States military." Fort Liberty is the only installation not to be named after a specific person or people. According to a memorandum published by the Pentagon, the new name changes would cost the Department of Defense $62.5 million. In particular, the change to Fort Liberty would cost the Department of Defense $6,374,230, making it the most expensive name change. In accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act, the local garrison had until early 2024 to complete the name change. On 2 June 2023, Fort Liberty officially adopted its new name in a public ceremony.

Fort Liberty is at 35°8'21" north, 78°59'57" west (35.139064, −78.999143). According to the United States Census Bureau, the post has a total area of , of which of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0 km2) of it is water. The total area is 0.32% water. Kiest, Simmons, Boundary Line, McFayden, Hurley and Holland lakes are intensively managed to maintain fish populations. Croatan, Quail, Deer Pen, Overhills, Big Muddy, Little Muddy, Texas, MacArthur, Smith, Mott, and Lindsay lakes are managed, but are not normally treated or restocked since their fish populations are respectable and are maintained naturally. A 1.1 MW floating solar plant with a 2 MW battery was installed on Big Muddy lake for $36 million. Fort Liberty is the only locality where the endangered Saint Francis' satyr butterfly (Neonympha mitchellii francisci) is known to occur. St. Francis' satyr is found in wetland habitats dominated by graminoids and sedges, such as abandoned beaver dams or along streams with beavers. Fort Bragg fever, a bacterial zoonotic disease, has been named after it, in reference to an outbreak in 1942. In 1990, the endangered red cockaded woodpecker came under the protection of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This caused a tremendous problem for Fort Liberty, where many of these birds lived. Training stopped, ranges were closed, and troops were temporarily moved to other installations for training. The Army and the conservationists eventually came to an agreement, which put in place training restrictions around the woodpeckers' habitat. White stripes were painted on trees to indicate the location of the habitats, and restrictions limited the scope and duration of training that could take place within 200 feet (61 m) of these locations. Today, the clusters of woodpeckers has more than doubled in size (200 to 493), and many of the training restrictions have been lifted.

Actress Martha Raye is buried on Fort Liberty in commemoration of her work with the USO during World War II and Vietnam.