Following World War II, there was no appetite in the US for more fights overseas. Americans wanted to get back to their jobs, their lives as they were before, and enjoy peace. They were not interested in force projection or being involved in regional conflicts. So, what more appropriate symbol than to change the name of the institution that had kept them safe since the founding of the nation? The War Department became the Department of Defense – but it didn’t stop the wars.
The Trump administration demonstrated it was a proactive, action-oriented executive branch when it took on the drug cartels. It was the use of war-fighting capability, not “defense fighting capability,” when the US Navy destroyed the speed boat of a Venezuelan drug cartel, Tren de Aragua [TdA], in the southern Caribbean. It was an offensive action that, by its success, defended American citizens. Furthermore, such direct-action moves are more consistent with Trump’s decision to rename the DOD. “The Department of Defense is reverting to its old name – the Department of War – per the president’s latest executive order. The Department previously held the title from 1789 until 1947, and accrued many military successes over that period, most notably in World War I and World War II,” Just the News explained.
In 1947, the US executive branch’s wartime responsibilities were in flux. Historically, emerging from the Revolutionary War, it became clear that there needed to be an organization that oversaw the newly minted US Army, US Navy, and US Marine Corps. Consequently, on August 7, 1789, Congress established the War Department as a cabinet-level organization to manage the operation and maintenance of the US Military Departments. That enterprise served the US well for nearly 16 decades.
However, in 1947, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act. “The legislation merges the Navy and War Departments and the newly independent Air Force into a single organization called the National Military Establishment led by a civilian secretary of defense who also oversees the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” according to the US Department of War website.
Unfortunately, however, the name “National Military Establishment” seemed overly officious and vague – and, worse, the initials when spoken aloud sounded like “enemy.” Thus, the change to the Department of Defense. Focusing on “Defense” was also reflective and symbolic of the times. People were tired of war. But simply being tired of conflict did not stop it from occurring.
President Trump explained in his executive order, “Restoring the United States Department of War”:
“The Founders chose this name to signal our strength and resolve to the world. The name ‘Department of War,’ more than the current ‘Department of Defense,’ ensures peace through strength, as it demonstrates our ability and willingness to fight and win wars on behalf of our Nation at a moment’s notice, not just to defend. This name sharpens the Department’s focus on our own national interest and our adversaries’ focus on our willingness and availability to wage war to secure what is ours.”
As a note of interest, after President Trump signed the executive order re-establishing the Department of War, the next day, all references to the former Department of Defense on the websites were changed to the Department of War.
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There is sound logic behind the restoration of the Department of War designation. As outlined by the Congressional Research Office, in the nearly 80 years since the signing of the National Security Act, there have been only a handful of years in which the US armed forces have not been engaged in a conflict overseas. Within three years of the formation of the Department of Defense, the US was leading UN forces in the bloody Korean War, or as the UN peace wonks liked to call it, a “police action.” From that conflict to the present time, the US has been involved directly or indirectly in 40 distinct armed conflicts.
There’s the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Afghanistan War, and Iraq War. Additionally, the US military has intervened in conflicts in Lebanon, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. Then there are ongoing conflicts, including some level of direct involvement by the US in the Yemeni Civil War, Somalia Civil War, and Syrian Civil War, with indirect engagement in Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, as well as the Gaza War and the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. America also got involved in the First Indochina War (1950-1954), the Laotian Civil War (1953-1975), and Operation Earnest Will, which protected shipping in the Arabian Gulf (1987-1988). There were numerous other deployments of US forces, too, but you get the idea.
The redesignation as the Department of War carries more significance than mere semantic nuance. Having a war department recognizes the geopolitical realities facing the US. Establishing the War Department also establishes the foundation for a National Defense Strategy that recognizes adversaries’ threats as perilous, not “pacing challenges.” It is the difference between proactively meeting an enemy on a war footing and reacting in hopes that the outcome will not be defeat, as with Biden’s Afghanistan retreat. Going to war can have only one driving objective: winning. Having a Department of War signifies that anything short of winning is unacceptable.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.