Military Department set to be rebranded as 'Department of War' under Trump's executive decision

In a significant move, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday authorizing the Department of Defence to adopt the historic title "Department of War." This change, if made permanent, would mark the first major rebranding of the Pentagon in more than 75 years.

The War Department, originally established in 1789, oversaw the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. However, it was reorganized under the 1947 National Security Act, leading to the creation of the Department of Defence, the Air Force, and the CIA.

The rebranding reflects Trump's effort to restore a "warrior ethos" to the military under Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth defended the change as more than symbolic, stating that the War Department is intended to fight to win, not just to avoid losing.

The Pentagon has already embraced the shift, with Hegseth reportedly renaming his main conference space the "W.A.R. Room." The order designates "Department of War" as an official secondary title for Defence officials, giving Hegseth and his deputies new titles such as "Secretary of War" and "Deputy Secretary of War."

Trump has previously argued that America "won everything" when the military operated under the War Department name. During an Oval Office signing ceremony, he stated that "Defence is too defensive. We want to be offensive too if we have to be."

However, it's important to note that a full legal renaming would still require an act of Congress. At present, there is no publicly available information identifying a specific current member of the U.S. Congress as the introducer or sponsor of a "War-Department-Restoration-Act of 2025."

Republican lawmakers have introduced the Department of War Restoration Act of 2025 to make the change permanent. If passed, this act would solidify the rebranding, marking a significant shift in the way the U.S. military is perceived and addressed.

This development comes as the U.S. continues to navigate complex geopolitical challenges, with the rebranding potentially signalling a more assertive foreign policy stance. The implications of this change remain to be seen, but one thing is clear: the U.S. military is undergoing a significant transformation under the Trump administration.