Fort Cavazos officially reverts to Fort Hood, this time honoring WWI soldier
Published: 28 July 2025
By Rose L. Thayer
via the Stars and Stripes newspaper website

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A portrait of Col. Robert B. Hood is displayed during a ceremony July 28, 2025, to rename an Army base in Killeen, Texas, in his honor. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
FORT HOOD, Texas — The Army post in Killeen reverted to the name Fort Hood in a brief ceremony Monday morning, ending a two-year stint as Fort Cavazos.
Col. Mark McClellan and Command Sgt. Maj. Loyd Rhoades, the commander and senior noncommissioned officer of the base’s garrison command, carefully rolled up a flag bearing the name Cavazos and covered it in a long, slender bag. Then, the team unfurled the familiar flag of Fort Hood, which took its place alongside the American flag in a color guard formation outside of III Corps Headquarters.
Mitzi Huffman, a former Air Force captain, sat in the front row of the ceremony, occasionally wiping a tear from her face as the base was officially redesignated to honor her father, Col. Robert B. Hood, a veteran of World War I and recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross.
“In many ways, Col. Hood represents the ideal citizen soldier, a man who rose to the occasion when his nation needed him most and continued to give back long after the fighting had ceased,” Lt. Gen. Kevin Admiral, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, said in a brief speech to mark the occasion. “In recognition of his service, Col. Hood’s name will live on as generations of soldiers who’ve served and will serve here learn about his career and the impact he had on our Army.”
The three-star general stood at a podium alongside a large, framed portrait of Hood, who died at age 73 in 1964, three years after his retirement from the Army.
Huffman, who did not speak at the ceremony, said in a statement released by Fort Hood that much of her father’s life was in selfless service to his country and his family.
“I tell you true, my dad would say the name on that gate does not ever define what that fort’s legacy is,” she said. “That fort is the backbone of the Army, and the Army code is instilled in every soldier that passes through that gate.”
Monday’s ceremony returned the name Hood to the base after President Donald Trump announced last month that all nine Army bases renamed to remove homage to Confederate-linked generals would return. However, federal law now bars the use of those Confederate names, so each of the bases has returned to their original name but to honor a different person.
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