The US military’s perspective shifts once again.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order today, September 5, directing the Pentagon to use the historic title “Department of War,” reviving language the United States used from the founding era through the mid-20th century. The order authorizes the term as a secondary title and instructs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to pursue steps to make a full statutory change, according to a White House description reported by Fox News. Trump previewed the move in late August when he said, “Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War.”
“I think it’s a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now,” Trump said before signing the order at the Oval Office. “We have the strongest military in the world. We have the greatest equipment in the world.”
A presidential order can change branding and internal style, signage, websites, podium backdrops, and job titles, but Congress sets the legal name of a Cabinet department. As such, the Department of Defense will officially keep that name unless the legislature votes otherwise.
Still, the order will reportedly permit the Pentagon to display the “Department of War” name and to refer to Hegseth as “secretary of war,” while directing proposals for “both legislative and executive actions” to make the change permanent.
When Congress created the War Department in 1789, it was the civilian office that ran the US Army; the Navy soon got its own department in 1798. The arrangement lasted through two world wars. In 1947, sweeping post-war reforms abolished the War Department and created the National Military Establishment, splitting the old portfolio into a Department of the Army and a separate Department of the Air Force, alongside the Department of the Navy. Two years later, Congress renamed the umbrella organization the Department of Defense and strengthened the secretary of defense’s authority over the services.
The Pentagon itself was built during World War II to consolidate the War Department’s far-flung offices. The building opened in January 1943 and quickly became the nerve center for wartime planning. In 1947–49, as the legal structure changed, the Pentagon transitioned from housing the War Department to headquarters of the new Department of Defense.
Supporters say the word “War” reflects clarity of purpose and deterrence; they see “Defense” as a Cold War relic that, in their view, soft-pedals military power. Reuters notes Hegseth’s description of the rename as an assertion of “warrior ethos.” Critics counter that the shift is largely symbolic, potentially costly, and risks signaling a needlessly aggressive posture. They also point out that big-ticket changes to seals, stationery, uniforms, and law would take time and money even if Congress agreed.
Hegseth has argued the older title signals offense, not just defense. “We won WWI, and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department,” he said on television while describing a broader campaign to re-center a warrior ethos in the ranks. Trump has echoed that symbolism, linking the label to an era he associates with clear military victory.
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