As President Donald Trump’s directive to rebrand the Department of Defense to the Department of War begins, some high-ranking Pentagon officials are expressing frustration with the monumental administrative task and questioning its purpose, Politico reported.
“This is purely for domestic political audiences,” a former defense official told the outlet. “Not only will this cost millions of dollars, it will have absolutely zero impact on Chinese or Russian calculations. Worse, it will be used by our enemies to portray the United States as warmongering and a threat to international stability.”
Politico interviewed more than half a dozen current and former defense officials, based on their insight into the Pentagon, and they were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic. While the specifics of the order Trump signed Friday remain unclear, officials may be required to update Defense Department seals across more than 700,000 facilities in all 50 states and 40 countries. The changes could affect everything from official letterhead for the six military branches and dozens of agencies to embossed chow hall napkins, embroidered jackets for Senate-confirmed officials, and keychains and trinkets sold in the Pentagon gift shop.
“We won the First World War. We won the Second World War. We won everything before that and in between. And then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So we’re going Department of War, Trump said.
“I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends really a message of strength. We’re very strong. We’re much stronger than anyone would really understand.”
An official who asked Politico to be referred to as a “War Department” official said the costs of implementation would fluctuate.
Yet others in the department are skeptical the change is an efficient use of resources.
“I see there being a million small headaches and annoyances if this actually happens,” said a defense official. “It’ll eat up time and effort.”
In addition to the logistics of the rebrand, one Defense Department consultant said the name change sends the wrong message to both friends and foes around the globe.
“On a tactical level, it would mean having to rebrand a mountain of contracting, marketing, business development materials, you name it, both digital and otherwise, that specifically cite the Department of Defense or DOD,” the consultant said.
“More strategically, even philosophically, it could raise new questions about what it means to be supporting the Department of War, which likely sends a more belligerent message to our allies and adversaries alike.”
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