In what has been described as one of the most radical rebranding of the most powerful military force in the United States since the World War II, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to renamed the Department of Defense to the Department of War, which would be the largest rebranding of the Pentagon since the World War II and set a series of shockwaves throughout the defense community in Washington as the administration tries to establish a more aggressive military posture.
The justification for this historic change of the military department name by Trump
On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. Trump told him that in his speech in the Oval Office, such rebranding was a new voice to the military and the country. Similarly, as proposed in the fact sheet, the order will also be applied in redefining the term war in the titles of the Defense Department officials.
When he appeared in the Oval Office last month, President Trump already hinted that a change was imminent. Such is the fact that we had an amazing winning record, says the Department of War to reporters at the conclusion of the last month. We then called it the Department of Defense, he said. Defense is excessive protection. He continued, “We want to be offensive and defensive, but we are obligated to.”
Before the US military was reorganized following World War II, which concluded in 1945, the Department of Defense had been the Department of War since 1789. Before being renamed the Department of Defense, it was known as the National Military Establishment after merging with other departments in 1947. Such name changes were implemented by a congressional act.
What are the legal problems of this executive order with Congress?
Trump is not allowed to change the department’s name without Congress’s consent. The legal name was created in 1949 when Congress renamed the newly merged branches of military service to the Department of Defense after World War II. Although the president is free to refer to the Pentagon by any name he chooses, constitutional expert Steve Vladeck explained to NPR that Congress must approve any changes to the Pentagon’s legal name.
The extent of the expense of this rebranding to taxpayers
Even small adjustments, like changing titles, seals, or signs, could be expensive for the biggest agency in the US government. An Army official told Congress in 2023 that taxpayers would have to pay $39 million to rename just nine Army bases. The Department of Defense, the Pentagon, or the initials DOD are common abbreviations for the Department.
What Defense Secretary Hegseth says about this warrior ethos
Parallels to the statements of Trump about the name of the department were also made by Hegseth, who, in an interview on the US television network Fox News, said that his agency desired a warrior culture. We want warriors, people who know how to bring about lethality on the enemy, he said. We do not desire continual contingencies and merely playing defense. Words and names and titles are, we believe, important. We are in collaboration with the White House and the president on it. Stand by,” he said.
Since the very inception of the nation, the army was supervised by the War Department, yet the massive agency acquired its modern name after an act of Congress in 1949. The change was also at that time the climax of an endeavor by President Harry Truman to bring together under the umbrella of a single department the Air Force, Army, and Navy. This rebranding could not be better timed than at a time when the Trump administration wants to portray its power and military preparedness.