US drops ‘Indo’ from Indo-Pacific Command name, cites ‘restoring legacy’

The department of war announced Tuesday that the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) will officially restore its name to the US Pacific Command (USPACOM), reversing the 2018 decision to rename it.Originally established on January 1, 1947, by then-President Harry S Truman, the command operated under the USPACOM banner for over 70 years, standing as the oldest and largest of the United States’ unified combatant commands.“Restoring the legacy USPACOM designation honours the command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific,” the department of war said in a statement.The name change is largely symbolic and carries no fundamental shifts in troops, military missions or other Pentagon activities. USPACOM’s vast area of responsibility, spanning from the waters off the West Coast of the United States to the western border of India, remains exactly the same.The command’s fundamental mission and its commitment to maintaining a free and open theater alongside regional allies and partners are unchanged as per the press statement.In May 2018, then-defense secretary Jim Mattis announced the renaming of Pacific Command to Indo-Pacific Command, a move that underscored India’s growing importance to the Pentagon.“Relationships with our Pacific and Indian Ocean allies and partners have proven critical to maintaining regional stability,” Mattis said at the time. “In recognition of the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, today we rename the US Pacific Command to US Indo-Pacific Command.”The restoration of the Pacific Command name does not affect the command’s operational scope, personnel or resources. The command has about 375,000 civilian and military personnel assigned to its area of responsibility, which includes India.