The late Sen. Lindsey Graham spent much of his career moving between Capitol Hill and the military world — and the Pentagon is now seeking to place his name on one of the country’s most important military installations.
The Defense Department has begun steps to rename Joint Base Charleston in honor of the South Carolina senator and Air Force veteran, recognizing a public servant whose connection to the armed forces remained unusually strong throughout his years in Congress.
Under the proposal, the major airlift hub would be renamed Joint Base Lindsey Graham, according to an internal memo obtained by The Post and Courier, Charleston’s local newspaper.
In a July 27 letter, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink instructed officials to coordinate with Air Mobility Command and Joint Base Charleston leaders and take “all necessary and appropriate actions” to start the renaming process.
Meink said the proposed change would recognize 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,” the secretary wrote.
Graham, who died July 11, was widely known in Washington as one of the Senate’s most forceful advocates for the U.S. military. His relationship with the armed services, however, extended well beyond debates over defense spending and national security policy.
After completing law school, Graham served 33 years in the Air Force, including active-duty roles in the 1980s as a military attorney and as lead prosecutor for the Air Force’s felony case division at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany.
He later transferred to the South Carolina Air National Guard, where he continued serving until 2015 while rising through the political ranks.
During his time in Congress, Graham deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — a rare distinction for a sitting lawmaker. He also traveled to conflict zones including Israel and Ukraine, returning from Kyiv shortly before his death.
The proposed tribute also reflects Graham’s years of advocacy for South Carolina’s military installations. He helped direct hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding toward Joint Base Charleston and other defense priorities, while becoming a key player in the region’s emergence as a military and aerospace hub.
“Nobody visited more war zones, nobody met with more active-duty troops and nobody loved — with the exception, perhaps, of our president — the military more,” Fox News’ Sean Hannity said in his eulogy at Graham’s funeral on Tuesday.
Earlier this year, Graham helped secure $212 million for upgrades at the base, including improvements to its pier infrastructure and new medical and dental facilities.
“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.
Joint Base Charleston is home to more than 50 military commands and operates the nation’s largest fleet of C-17 cargo aircraft. It houses the Air Force’s 437th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve’s 315th Airlift Wing.
The proposed name change drew immediate praise from South Carolina Republicans, Graham’s former colleagues and Republican gubernatorial nominee Alan Wilson, who said the move would recognize Graham’s decades of service to both the state and the country.
“Today’s announcement to rename Joint Base Charleston in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham is a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his life to serving our nation and state,” Wilson said. “From his service in the Air Force to his years in Congress and the U.S. Senate, Lindsey answered the call to serve with honor. His legacy will live on for generations.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also shared the Post and Courier report on her X account.
But not everyone saluted the move.
Charleston Democratic state Sen. Ed Sutton, an Air Force veteran, told The Post and Courier that Graham deserved recognition but argued changing the name of the entire base without local input was “the wrong approach.”
Sutton said a new Coast Guard facility in North Charleston could be a more fitting tribute, given Graham’s recent efforts to secure funding for the Coast Guard mission.
“That would honor his legacy without erasing Charleston’s military tradition,” Sutton said.
The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
