Fort Cavazos, Texas, has been renamed Fort Hood to honor World War I soldier Col. Robert Benjamin Hood. The ceremony was held Monday at the III Armored Corps Headquarters, where Col. Mark McClellan, garrison Fort Hood commander, and Sgt. Maj. Loyd Rhoades removed the Fort Cavazos colors and raised the Fort Hood colors.
Col. Hood, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient, was known for his dedication to his soldiers and was highly respected by peers and subordinates, said III Armored Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General Lt. Gen. Kevin Admiral. Hood’s daughter, Mitzi Huffman, called the renaming humbling, noting she only learned about her father’s military honors while preparing for his burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Hood was born in 1891 in Wellington, Kansas, and graduated from Kansas State Agricultural College in 1914. Commissioned in 1917, Hood served with the 12th Field Artillery Regiment during World War I, where his actions under heavy fire earned him the Distinguished Service Cross. He continued serving through World War II and retired in 1961 after 44 years in the Army. Originally named after Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood, the base was redesignated Fort Cavazos in 2023 but reverted to Fort Hood in 2025 following a presidential announcement restoring the original names of several military installations.