The Pentagon is moving to rename Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina to Joint Base Lindsey Graham following an internal Air Force memo signed on July 27. The proposed tribute honors the late Republican senator’s three decades of military service and extensive advocacy for the defense installation.
What began as an internal Air Force directive quickly shifted into national focus as Washington mourned the late senator. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink ordered staff to begin work with Air Mobility Command and Joint Base Charleston leadership to take what the memo termed all necessary and appropriate actions to convert the base’s name. An Air Force official confirmed that Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signed a memo on Monday initiating the steps to rename Joint Base Charleston after Air Force veteran and late Sen. Lindsey Graham. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, could not provide additional information beyond what is being reported. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X Tuesday that the base will be renamed for Graham. Leavitt did not provide additional information in her post, linking to a story from The Post and Courier, based in Charleston, S.C., which cited an internal Air Force memo it received.
Joint Base Charleston was established from a number of adjoining North Charleston-based military installations as part of a larger reorganization of Defense Department facilities in 2010. Joint Base Charleston hosts more than 60 Defense Department and federal agencies. The 628th Air Base Wing delivers installation support.
Legislative Legacy and Decades in Uniform
The push to rename the East Coast airlift hub bridges the late senator’s twin identities as a Capitol Hill fixture and an active-duty military lawyer. Graham spent 33 years in the Air Force as an active-duty staff judge advocate, a South Carolina Air National Guard officer and a senior lawyer in the Air Force Reserve. He died unexpectedly from an aortic dissection at the age of 71. Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 and the Senate in 2002.
The Defense Department is moving to rename Joint Base Charleston after the late South Carolina senator and Air Force veteran, honoring a lawmaker who maintained a connection to the military even while serving in Congress. The base—one of the nation’s most important airlift hubs—could become Joint Base Lindsey Graham under a plan outlined in an internal memo obtained by The Post and Courier, Charleston’s local newspaper. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died on July 11.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink directed officials in a July 27 letter to work with Air Mobility Command and Joint Base Charleston leadership to take all necessary and appropriate actions
to begin the renaming process. The move honors Graham’s decades of distinguished service to the United States Congress and the United States Air Force.
Senator Graham’s lifelong devotion to the military was shaped by his own military service and his public service in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives,
Meink wrote. His steadfast advocacy was instrumental in modernizing our military infrastructure and enhancing aviation security, ensuring that Joint Base Charleston remains as one of America’s premier military installations.
Graham was a powerful advocate for the base, helping direct hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to support its missions.
Mourning in Washington and Local Pushback in South Carolina
Graham died on July 11. Army Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard, welcomed Sen. Lindsey Graham to the D.C. Armory on June 5, 2020. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement in a social media post on Tuesday. A South Carolina aluminum plant has returned to full capacity after a $50 million investment, marking a significant boost to domestic production, while the state’s coast braced for dangerous heat with heat indexes potentially reaching 110 degrees on Tuesday, July 28.
What Comes Next for the Base Designation
With the Pentagon directive now active, Air Mobility Command and base leadership face the logistical task of formally redesignating the multi-service installation. A major military installation in South Carolina will be renamed in honor of the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, turning a combined air and naval facility on the S.C. coast into Joint Base Lindsey Graham, according to a memo from the Secretary of the Air Force. Plans to rename the base were first reported by the Post and Courier, cementing a permanent tribute to a lawmaker whose decades of service touched both Capitol Hill and the armed forces.
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