It's done. The effete, well-polished, mild-mannered "Department of Defense" is out. The gritty, tough, blood-in-its-eye Department of War is in. It conjures the image of a grizzled soldier with dust in his hair, mud on his boots, and a bayonet clutched in his teeth.
President Trump has signed the order, Pete Hegseth is ordering new note pads and letterheads, and the White House wasted no time with the announcement.
A warrior, a leader, a PATRIOT.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 5, 2025
Your SECRETARY OF WAR, Pete Hegseth. 🇺🇸 @SecWar pic.twitter.com/y7KT9fKXc8
The video's voice-over says:
Born in Forest Lake, Minnesota. A proud Princeton graduate. An officer in the United States Army National Guard. A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Recipient of the Bronze Star medal for valor. A warrior, a leader, and a patriot. Please stand and honor your United States Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth.
I like it. Oh, Congress will have to act to make this name change official, and there's no guarantee that will happen. But that's no reason not to gloat a little bit about it
We note that Secretary Hegseth's X handle has already changed to @SecWar, and the Department of War wasted no time fixing his office door.
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) September 5, 2025
It's a new day in the Pentagon.
Read More: Hooah! Meet the Newer, Better Department of War
Hegseth Tells Maduro Regime: That Drug Boat Takeout Was No AI, and You Can Expect More of the Same
Reactions on X were brisk:
We are in good hands!! 🇺🇸 Patriots in control. pic.twitter.com/Qy2Z7wNeGp
— Cody B. (@American686) September 5, 2025
— 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕄. 𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕔𝕪 🇺🇸 (@StevenLegacy411) September 5, 2025
I like this for a number of reasons, but one of the things I like best is that it will drive Democrats and the legacy media (but I repeat myself) to distraction. While President Trump noted earlier today that this will have to go to Congress, the administration is going ahead with the change, and they seem to be daring anyone to say anything about it.
Our military forces are in the business of war. War is their trade. Pete Hegseth has vowed to build a force of warfighters. This change just recognizes that, and it also is another of the Trump administration's willingness to call a spade a spade.
One of my personal heroes, General George Patton, is reported to have said:
Attack rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, without rest, however tired and hungry you may be, the enemy will be more tired, more hungry. Keep punching.
That's what we need. A military who will attack, who will close with and destroy the enemy by fire, maneuver, and shock effect. That's what we were taught back in my years in Uncle Sam's colors, in the last years of the Cold War, when there was still the possibility of a thousand Soviet tanks crashing through the Fulda Gap. Now the top of the command structure reflects that.
Department of War. I like it. I just checked with my wife, a Bronze Star recipient herself, and she likes it too.
And, yes, annoying the left is just icing on the cake. Gulf of America, anyone?
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, the rather dandified name "Department of Defense" has been changed back to the more determined, more aggressive, more blood-in-its-eye "Department of War," led by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
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