PBS

WATCH: Pentagon changes ‘Secretary of Defense’ signage to ‘Secretary of War’

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War — a long-telegraphed move aimed at projecting American military toughness around the ...
Wired

Defense Department Scrambles to Pretend It’s Called the War Department

The Pentagon’s website and social media channels were overhauled Friday at President Donald Trump’s behest to reflect the United States Defense Department’s new “Department of War” persona, shifting ...
Military Times

Why Truman changed the ‘War Department’ to the ‘Department of Defense’

President Harry S. Truman signing the National Security Act Amendments of 1949, which converted the National Military Establishment into a new Department of Defense. (National Archives) During a White ...
THE WEEK

How the War Department became the Department of Defense – and back again

This article appeared in History of War magazine issue 153. In September 2025 President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense to the 'Department of War', reverting ...