The Pentagon is taking steps to rename Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina after late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. 

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, in a letter dated Monday, ordered staffers to start working with Air Mobility Command and Joint Base Charleston leadership on "all necessary and appropriate actions" to change the East Coast air base's name to Joint Base Lindsey Graham, reports The Post and Courier, which obtained the documentation. 

Meink, in the letter, cited the South Carolina Republican'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," Meink said.

"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," he added. 

Graham, who died earlier this month and was eulogized on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., served for 33 years in the Air Force after law school. 

This included six years of active duty in the 1980s, including four years as lead prosecutor for the Air Force's felony case division at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany.

He transferred in 1989 to the South Carolina Air National Guard, serving a similar role at the Columbia-based McEntire Air National Guard Base during the first Gulf War. 

While serving in the Senate, Graham traveled for two deployments in the Middle East and received commendations from retired Gen. David Petraeus. 

"I am not aware of any other current Member of Congress who, while in office, spent remotely as much time deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan," Petraeus said when Graham retired from the military in 2015.

Graham had been a powerful advocate for the crucial Charleston base. 

Joint Base Charleston was officially created on Oct. 1, 2010, when the adjacent Charleston Air Force Base and Naval Weapons Station Charleston were merged. 

The base is widely known as the site of the nation's largest C-17 cargo jet fleet, and consists of more than 50 military commands of all sizes. 

It's home to the active-duty 437th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 315th Airlift Wing.

Graham helped to direct hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to the base. 

He was also associated with efforts to recruit Boeing to the area to build its 787 Dreamliner jets. 

In May, the senator helped bring an additional $212 million in federal funding to enhance the Coast Guard's operations at the base.

The money went to construct new medical and dental facilities at the site, as well as improve its pier infrastructure. 

"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.