Department of War: Why Trump wants to restore pre World War II name – Know its history

US President Donald Trump on Friday (Sep 5) signed an executive order, rebranding the Department of Defence as the Department of War, a name that hasn’t been used in over 70 years. Trump said that the move is indeed to “send a message of victory.” He said that the current name of the Pentagon was “too wokey” and failed to project strength, adding that the old name was “more appropriate for where the world is right now”.

The order signed by Trump allows the department to use the new name as a “secondary title”. To formally rename the Pentagon, Trump would require congressional approval.

Why is Trump pushing to change the name of Pentagon?

The recent executive order, which recognises Department of War as Pentagon’s secondary title, is not a surprise. Trump had expressed his desire to change the name in the past as well. Last month, Trump said that the Department of Defense “didn’t sound good to me... it used to be called the Department of War. It had a stronger sound, and as you know, we won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything. Now we have a Department of Defense; we’re defenders.”

Vox reported that the US president told Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, “If you want to change it back to what it was when we used to win wars all the time, that’s okay with me.”

History of Department of Defense

Originally created as a cabinet-level body in 1789, the Department of War was renamed to Department of Defence in 1947. The department oversees the US armed services.

While Trump is right that the United States had a Department of War, its functions were not the same as the present Department of Defence. According to Vox, the department was controlled the US Army, while the Navy was managed under a separate department.

Then president Harry Truman and other senior military leaders belived that this division had resulted in weakened coordination during the war. The former president even said that due to this, the US was unable to prevent the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

“Truman and his top national security advisers believed that it was essential to integrate and rationalise both national security planning and the preparation of the war plans,” historian Melvyn Leffler said according to Vox.

On Trump’s recent executive order, Leffler said, “Changing the name from defence to war implies a much greater desire to engage in bellicose policies. That might lead to actual armed conflict.”

What it means now?

The change of name days after China demonstrated its new range of weapons, drones and military systems in the massive parade. The move has been widely interpreted as a warning to Washing and is allies.

This also comes amid the rising global tensions, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East conflicts.

BBC reported that Pentagon’s official website had already changed its domain to war.gov with a new headline ‘US Department of War’.