The Trump Administration has renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War.
The name change was made official during an Oval Office event on Friday afternoon. President Donald Trump, signing his administration’s 200th executive order, authorized the change. Trump said the Department of War is a “much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now.” He also said the previous name sounded “woke.”
. @POTUS “This is something we thought long and hard about been talking about…” pic.twitter.com/aVcUhzguPT
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) September 5, 2025
We’re So BACK. Fighting to win has been a quaint and distant memory based on our pre-1947 history. And now the Trump Administration openly is declaring to our enemies that we won’t just play to a draw, but will FIGHT to WIN.
This is no Cracker Barrel silliness. This is not New Coke or woke Bud Light.
Pete Hegseth, the first Secretary of War since the department switched over after World War II, said the new name will convey a warrior ethos and a will to win. His message: “Words matter.”
He continued:
After winning a war for independence in 1789, George Washington established the War Department and Henry Knox was his first Secretary of War. This country won every war after that, to include World War I and World War II—total war.
And then 150 years after that, we changed the name… to the Department of Defense in 1947… and we haven’t won a major war since. That’s not to disparage our war fighters.
[T]his name change is not just about renaming, it’s … restoring…the warrior ethos; restoring victory and clarity as an end state; restoring intentionality to the use of force.
The Department of War is going to fight decisively, not [have] endless conflicts. It’s going to fight to win, not not-to-lose.
We’re going to go on offense not just on defense. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct. We’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.
We’re back.
Hegseth made the remarks while standing next to Trump in the Oval Office.
. @SECWAR “This name change isn’t about remaining. It is about RESTORING. WORDS MATTER
Restoring the warrior ethos. Restoring victory and clarity as an end state.” pic.twitter.com/cs9qSTzaNE
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) September 5, 2025
The name change has to be approved by Congress, and the Air Force Times reported that Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), who’s an Army vet, introduced legislation to change the name in the House, and Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are mirroring the legislation in the Senate.
The Pentagon has changed over its website to note the name change.
And the new logo has been released.
https://t.co/NwFIdAHsxL pic.twitter.com/Dmr6bL2t7p
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) September 5, 2025
The warrior ethos is catching on. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine recruitment is way up. The Army exceeded its recruitment goal by ten percent four months early under Trump. Military enlistment hit a 40-year-low under Joe Biden in 2022 and rebounded under Trump. The other branches are at or over their recruitment goals, with Space Force lagging behind.
The one president in years who’s sought peace almost to a fault is now conveying a new idea to our enemies: if they start or threaten something, we’ll finish it.
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