Washington: US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defence as the Department of War, US media reported, citing White House officials.
The move aims to restore historical clarity and emphasise a combat-oriented military ethos.
The change, directed through the executive action, seeks to signal a shift toward offensive capabilities and a “warrior mindset” for America’s armed forces.
According to reports, a White House fact-sheet on the impending order states that the renaming is designed to “restore historical clarity” and reinforce a combat-first identity for the armed forces.
Trump, previewing the move last month, told reporters: “We call it the Department of Defence, but between us, I think we’re gonna change the name. We won World War I, World War II — it was called the Department of War, and to me, that’s really what it is.”
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth supported the initiative, saying in a recent interview: “We won WWI and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defence, but with a War Department… We’re not just defence, we’re offence. We’re re-establishing the warrior ethos.”
The order will instruct Hegseth to propose legislative steps for permanence, with immediate rollout, including website and signage updates at the Pentagon.
On Thursday, Hegseth reposted a Fox News X post on the report, with the comment: “DEPARTMENT OF WAR.”
The Department of War was established in 1789 to oversee military affairs.
It retained that name until 1947, when the National Security Act under President Harry Truman reorganised the military, separating the Army and Air Force and merging them with the Navy into a unified structure.
In 1949, Congress renamed it the Department of Defence to reflect a post–World War II focus on national security and deterrence.
The rebranding aligns with Trump’s second-term military reforms, though a full legal name change would require Congressional approval.
The effort to rename the Pentagon follows a number of similar steps by Hegseth to change the names of bases and ships.
He reversed a Joe Biden-era decision that had removed Confederate-era names of bases like Fort Bragg and Fort Hood, reverting to those titles but officially naming them after different individuals with the same names.
In June, Hegseth also ordered the renaming of an oiler ship named after gay rights activist and Navy veteran Harvey Milk.
(IANS)
