Guwahati: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing his administration to revive the historic name “Department of War” as a secondary title for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The order allows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use terms such as “Department of War,” “Secretary of War,” and “Deputy Secretary of War” in official correspondence and communications. A formal renaming of the department would still require congressional approval.
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“We won the First World War. We won the Second World War. We won everything before that and in between,” Trump said during the Oval Office signing. “And then we decided to go woke and changed the name to the Department of Defense. So we’re going back to the Department of War.”
Following the announcement, the Pentagon’s website redirected users to war.gov, and Hegseth updated his social media profiles to reflect the change. He also released a video showing the “Secretary of Defense” placard on his office door being replaced with “Secretary of War.”
The executive order requires federal departments and agencies to recognize the title “Department of War” in all internal and external communications. Hegseth has also been tasked with recommending further legislative and executive steps to make the name permanent.
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“It’s not just about renaming. It’s about restoring,” Hegseth said. “We’re restoring the warrior ethos, restoring victory and clarity as an end state, and restoring intentionality in the use of force. The War Department is going to fight to win, not just to avoid losing.”
Trump defended the change as symbolic, stressing that it would not carry excessive costs. “We know how to rebrand without going crazy,” he said.
The Department of War was first established in 1789 to oversee the U.S. Army, alongside a separate Department of the Navy. It was dissolved after World War II under the National Security Act of 1947, which merged the Army and Navy, created the Air Force, and established the National Military Establishment. The name was changed to Department of Defense in 1949, reflecting the country’s emphasis on deterrence during the nuclear age.
Hegseth argued that America has struggled to achieve decisive victories since the Defense Department replaced the War Department. “That’s not to disparage our war fighters,” he said, citing Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. “But we’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.”