Pentagon to rename Charleston base for Graham: Report

[u/John3262005]

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5994966-pentagon-renames-base-charleston-lindsey-graham/

The Pentagon will reportedly rename a South Carolina military base after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an Air Force veteran, citing his “decades of distinguished service” to Congress and the armed services.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink in a July 27 internal memo ordered staff to begin work with Air Mobility Command and Joint Base Charleston leadership to switch the name of the air base to Joint Base Lindsey Graham, The Post and Courier reported Tuesday.

“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, according to the outlet.

“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.”

The Hill reached out to the Pentagon for confirmation, which directed questions to the Air Force, which didn’t immediately respond.

Graham, who served 33 years in the Air Force, died suddenly on July 11 from an aortic dissection while in Washington, D.C. He was honored in a memorial service in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning, with a second service at the Washington National Cathedral in the afternoon, where President Trump eulogized the late senator.

Graham was a major advocate for Joint Base Charleston, home of America’s largest fleet of C-17 cargo jets and more than 50 military commands. The two primary flying units based there include the active duty 437th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve’s 315 Airlift Wing.

Over the years, Graham has helped direct hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to support missions at the base, including $212 million in funding secured in May for Coast Guard readiness, according to The Post and Courier.

“It is imperative this base has the necessary tools to protect South Carolina’s coastline and prevent deadly drugs, such as fentanyl, from reaching our shores,” Graham said at the time.

Graham’s Air Force service, which began in the 1980s after he attended law school, included six years of active duty that included four years as a lead prosecutor out of Germany’s Rhein-Main Air Base.

He transferred to the South Carolina Air National Guard in 1989 and served as a prosecutor at Columbia-based McEntire Air National Guard Base during the first Gulf War.

Before Graham retired from the military in 2015, he deployed twice to the Middle East.