Should the Dept of Defense change it's name to Dept of War?

[Richard T]

Trump recently has suggested that the department of Defense change its name back to the Department of War. Do you like this name change?

Trump to rename Pentagon, restoring historic ‘Department of War’ in latest military move

President Donald Trump announced a plan to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War, reverting to the agency's former title as part of Pentagon reforms.

www.foxnews.com

 

[PloverWing]

Mostly, it would be a change to everybody's letterhead stationery and signs on buildings that accomplishes nothing. We all understand that "defense" is a euphemism for "war". I don't see the point.

 

[Lukaris]

Chose unsure but there is precedent:

United States Department of War - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Vambram]

I have no problem with the Department of Defense returning back to its original name.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Trump recently has suggested that the department of Defense change its name back to the Department of War. Do you like this name change?

Trump to rename Pentagon, restoring historic ‘Department of War’ in latest military move

President Donald Trump announced a plan to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War, reverting to the agency's former title as part of Pentagon reforms.

www.foxnews.com

"War" sounds better than " Defense " in the mind of an authoritarian.

 

[JustaPewFiller]

As others have said, I think it would be mostly as cosmetic change, and going back to the old name.

But, it does represent a bit of a mind-set shift.

Consider this, two people sign up for martial arts classes.
One says, "I'm learning self defense".
The other says, "I'm learning how to beat up someone."

Same martial art, different application mind-set. That is what this reminds me of.

 

[Richard T]

Thanks for all who responded. Here are a few of my thoughts on the change.

To use "war" in the title implies defense and offense. Offensive wars or as some say preemptive as in the case of Iraq, can sometimes be unjust. The same can not be said about fighting defensively. So I guess it depends on what emphasis that you want.

I looked up the history of the name change. Below is google, AI's response. President Truman btw previously served as an artillery officer. When he signed the bill the name change was not meaningless. Note too that Congress passed the bill. It was not done by executive order. Also , Truman and Congress had a solid reason for the name change. The Dept of War, did not include the navy, so we are not technically going back the Dept of War because it never included the Navy.

"President Harry S. Truman changed the US Department of War to the Department of Defense
. The change took place in two steps, outlined in the National Security Act of 1947 and its 1949 amendments.

Steps in the transformation

• National Security Act of 1947: Signed by Truman on July 26, 1947, this act merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into a new Cabinet-level agency, the National Military Establishment (NME). It also created the US Air Force as a separate branch and established the new position of Secretary of Defense. James V. Forrestal was the first to hold this position.
• 1949 amendments: On August 10, 1949, Truman signed amendments to the 1947 act, renaming the NME to the Department of Defense (DoD). This also placed the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force under the authority of the Secretary of Defense."

I think at a minimum that Trump should get Congressional approval just like Truman did. He should also state his reasons and let it be debated. Interestingly, there has been a Dept of Peace cabinet level office debated before. Department of Peace - Wikipedia

Also, the George Washington had just four cabinet offices. the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, and Attorney General. I don't see how the USA would ever go back that far.