If you’re PCSing to Central Texas right now, you’ve probably seen both names — orders that say Fort Cavazos, a moving company quoting Fort Hood, a Facebook group arguing about which one is “right.” I get this question constantly, so let’s clear it up once and for all.
The short answer: it’s Fort Hood again. Same post, same gate, same 200,000 acres outside Killeen. Nothing changed except the name on the sign.
Here’s the timeline, quickly
The installation was Fort Hood for decades before this. In May 2023, it was renamed Fort Cavazos, honoring Gen. Richard E. Cavazos — a III Corps commanding general and the first Hispanic four-star general in Army history, later awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in January 2025 for his actions in the Korean War. That rename was part of a congressionally mandated effort under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to remove Confederate names from nine Army installations.
Then, on June 11, 2025, the Secretary of the Army signed an order reverting the name to Fort Hood — this time honoring Col. Robert B. Hood, a World War I Distinguished Service Cross recipient, not the Confederate general the post was originally named for. The Army held an official redesignation ceremony on July 28, 2025, casing the Fort Cavazos colors and raising the Fort Hood flag at III Armored Corps Headquarters.
So if you’re wondering whether you missed something — you didn’t. This is a genuinely new namesake, not a reversal of the reasoning behind the 2023 change.
What this actually means for your move
I’ll be straight with you: for 95% of what you’re dealing with, it changes nothing.
- Your BAH is unaffected. The Military Housing Area is still TX286 (Killeen/Fort Hood) — the boundary and rate structure didn’t move because the sign did. If you haven’t already, run your numbers through my BAH calculator to see what that translates to for renting or buying.
- Older orders or paperwork that say “Fort Cavazos” are still valid. You don’t need to request corrected orders. Both names point to the same installation, and gaining/losing offices on post are used to seeing both.
- Mail and shipping addresses work either way, though I’d default to “Fort Hood” going forward since that’s what’s on current signage and what USPS and most carriers have already updated to.
- VA loan paperwork, lender documents, and listings may still reference Fort Cavazos if they haven’t been refreshed — that’s not an error, just a timing lag. If you’re deep in the VA loan process right now, don’t let a name mismatch on a document worry you.
The one place I’d actually pay attention: if you’re using GPS or a moving company’s system that hasn’t updated its mapping data, search both names. Most are caught up by now, but I’ve seen a few older listings and directories still lagging. My own PCS Toolkit is kept current if you want a single source that isn’t stuck on the old name.
Why this kept happening
Fort Hood isn’t alone — eight other installations went through the same two-step rename (Fort Bragg, Fort Benning, Fort Polk, and others), all reverted in 2025 under the same directive. If you’re coming from one of those posts, you already know the drill. If this is your first PCS through a “renamed-twice” installation, just know it’s a paperwork quirk, not a red flag.
Bottom line
Whatever’s stamped on your orders, you’re headed to the same post, the same gate, the same neighborhoods I write about every week — whether that’s Killeen itself, Harker Heights, or Copperas Cove. If you’ve got questions about where to live once you’re here, that’s where I can actually help — reach out here or call/text me directly.
📞 Call or text me: 737-203-0360
