Fair winds, INDOPACOM: Pentagon returns command name to US Pacific Command

Another Pentagon-led name change was unveiled Tuesday, when it was announced that the military’s U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would be dropping “Indo” from its name and reverting back to the long used U.S. Pacific Command, or USPACOM.

The move, according to a Pentagon release, “honors the command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific.”

“From its critical role in establishing the post-WWII regional security architecture to its coordination of joint forces during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and countless humanitarian operations, the USPACOM namesake carries decades of military heritage and enduring regional partnerships,” the release states.

U.S. Pacific Command was the official name of the formation until May 2018, when, during the first term of President Donald Trump, it was changed to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command “in recognition of the increasing connectivity of the Indian and Pacific Oceans” and rising military and economic pressure emerging from Beijing, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said at the time.

The command’s top officer in 2018, Adm. Harry Harris, acknowledged then that the change reflected the return of great power competition as decades of combat in the Global War on Terror were winding down.

“I believe we are reaching an inflection point in history,” Harris said in 2018. “A geo-political competition between free and oppressive visions is taking place in the Indo-Pacific.”

The name change announced Tuesday, meanwhile, will have no impact on the command’s mission or areas of operational responsibility that were in place under INDOPACOM, according to the release.

The move is the latest in a series of rebranding initiatives launched by the Pentagon — from base names to the department itself — since Trump began his second term.

In recent weeks the House and Senate armed services committees voted to advance legislation that would ratify the rebrand of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

While the latter designation, which was the official department name from 1789-1947, has been used by Pentagon officials since September 2025 , it has yet to be signed into law by Congress.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to social media on June 5 to praise the recent votes, noting, “The Department of War will officially be restored soon.”

J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.

周二，五角大楼主导的另一项更名计划被公布，军方宣布美国印太司令部将从其名称中删除“印太”，并恢复使用已久的美国太平洋司令部（USPACOM）。

五角大楼发布的消息称，此举“旨在彰显该司令部深厚的历史底蕴，增强所有在太平洋服役人员的自豪感和集体精神”。

新闻稿称：“从二战后建立区域安全架构的关键作用，到朝鲜战争、越南战争和无数人道主义行动中协调联合部队，美国太平洋司令部承载着数十年的军事传统和持久的区域伙伴关系。”

美国太平洋司令部是该机构的正式名称，直到 2018 年 5 月，在唐纳德·特朗普总统的第一任期内，该机构更名为美国印太司令部，“以应对印度洋和太平洋日益增强的联系”以及来自北京的军事和经济压力，时任国防部长吉姆·马蒂斯当时表示。

2018 年，该司令部最高指挥官哈里·哈里斯海军上将承认，这一变化反映了随着全球反恐战争数十年的战斗接近尾声，大国竞争的回归。

“我认为我们正处于历史的转折点，”哈里斯在2018年说。“在印太地区，自由与压迫的理念之间正在上演一场地缘政治竞争。”

据新闻稿称，周二宣布的更名不会对该司令部的任务或印太司令部原有的作战责任范围产生任何影响。

自特朗普开始第二个任期以来，五角大楼推出了一系列品牌重塑计划，从基地名称到国防部本身，而此次举措是其中的最新举措。

最近几周，众议院和参议院军事委员会投票通过了一项立法，该立法将批准将国防部更名为战争部。

虽然后一个名称（1789 年至 1947 年的正式部门名称）自 2025 年 9 月以来一直被五角大楼官员使用，但尚未得到国会的签署成为法律。

国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯于 6 月 5 日在社交媒体上发文，赞扬了最近的投票结果，并指出：“战争部将很快正式恢复运作。”

JD Simkins 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的总编辑，也是参加过伊拉克战争的海军陆战队老兵。