Fort Belvoir's Mosby center renamed to honor fallen servicemember Richard S. Eaton Jr.

What was formerly known as the John Mosby Army Reserve Center at Fort Belvoir is now the Staff Sergeant Richard S. Eaton Jr. Army Reserve Center.

The 51,000-square-foot facility opened in 1973 and was originally dedicated to Confederate soldier John Mosby. It is now the only Department of Defense building named for an Army counterintelligence special agent.

The facility, which includes an assembly hall, supply rooms, arms vault, kitchen, gym, classrooms and office spaces, is one of more than two dozen Army Reserve Centers and Armed Forces Reserve Centers in Virginia and has an estimated economic impact of nearly $324 million.

Located at 8831 John Kingman Road at Fort Belvoir, the center was recommended for a name change by the Naming Commission in 2021. The commission directed bases around the country to identify all items owned by the Department of Defense that commemorate the Confederate States of America and remove all names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia identified by the commission. The commission was comprised of eight commissioners appointed by both Republican and Democratic representatives, four of whom were appointed by the secretary of defense. They included retired Army, Navy and Marine Corps general officers, a retired Air Force officer, a businessman from Oklahoma, a sitting Republican congressman from Georgia and a foreign policy adviser from a think tank in Washington, D.C. 

"Commemoration and history are two very different things," Deputy Chief of Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Deborah L. Kotulich said during the April 23 ceremony. "History describes the people in places of the past in all their greatness or grimness, achievements and failures, nobility and notoriety. Commemoration elevates an act, event or individual by bestowing it."

Eaton last served as a counterintelligence agent assigned to B Company, 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion. Mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Eaton was attached to 3d Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq. He died of heat-related injuries Aug. 12, 2003, following a firefight in Al-Hit, Iraq.

He enlisted in the Army in 1985 and served on active duty until 1998. He held assignments in South Korea, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and the Philippines. After leaving active duty, Eaton enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve. He worked as a contractor supporting the intelligence community and worked at the Pentagon prior to and during 9/11, where his office was destroyed during the attacks. Eaton lived in Alexandria at the time. 

Later, Eaton did contract work for the Intelligence and Security Command on Fort Belvoir. He volunteered to deploy with the 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion while working for the U.S. Air Force at Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea. Once mobilized, Eaton supervised a team in Iraq and worked closely with Human Intelligence Soldiers.

Eaton's awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal and the Overseas Service Ribbon. He also earned the Thomas G. Knowlton Award of the Military Intelligence Corps Association.

Additionally, Eaton's third great-grandfather was Union Civil War Era Breveted Maj. Gen. Amos Beebe Eaton.

Eaton's name is also featured on the Intelligence and Security Command memorial.

"To be clear, this isn't about erasing history," Kotulich said. "It's about commemorating the best examples from our national past to inspire the best courses for our national future. History remains unchanged."

Eaton's mother, Sharon Noble Eaton, was on hand for the ceremony. She shared remarks about her son and his dedication to service. 

"Thank you with all my heart for honoring my son," she said. "As a mom, I witnessed how Rick was inspired by family history and service. Soldiers were among his heroes."