Military Base To Be Renamed To Honor Lindsey Graham

The Air Force has begun the process of renaming Joint Base Charleston after the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to an internal memo.

In a memo obtained by The Post and Courier dated July 27, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink directed staff and leadership at the South Carolina base to take “all necessary and appropriate actions” to change the name of Joint Base Charleston to Joint Base Lindsey Graham. 

Meink attributed the change to Sen. Graham’s “decades of distinguished service” to both Congress and the 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 said in the letter. “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 renaming reflects Graham’s contributions to the base since its creation in 2010. After the merging of the Charleston Air Force Base and the Naval Weapons Station Charleston to make the soon-to-be Joint Base Lindsey Graham, the late South Carolina senator helped direct hundreds of millions of dollars to support missions from the station.

In May, Graham assisted in securing an additional $212 million in funding to boost “Coast Guard readiness” at Joint Base Charleston.

After attending law school, Sen. Graham served in the Air Force for 33 years before retiring as a colonel in 2015. He served in the Senate from 2003 until his passing earlier this month. Throughout his time there, he was one of the chamber’s most vocal advocates for an assertive U.S. foreign policy, championing NATO and transatlantic ties and pushing hard for Ukraine’s defense against Russia. 

Though an early critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, Graham later became a trusted foreign-policy adviser to President Trump, helping shape decisions on issues from Syria to sanctions against Russia.

The late senator’s funeral is being held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., with a second service taking place in South Carolina on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

Joint Base Charleston is currently home to the active-duty 437th Airlift Wing as well as the Air Force Reserve’s 315th Airlift Wing. It also serves as the Navy’s primary East Coast site to train nuclear submarine operators and is home to the nation’s largest fleet of C-17 cargo jets.